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4 








SHOES 



Shoes 

by J. A. Bentham 


Illustrated by 

Hilda T. Miller 


I 


New York 

Frederick A. Stokes Company 
Publishers 



1 a a °\ 
* 3 


Made & Printed 
in Great Britain 


TO “KITA" 

I DEDICATE THIS STORY TO YOU, OLD FRIEND, 
AS A SLIGHT APPRECIATION OF YOUR KINDLY 
ENCOURAGEMENT, BUT FOR WHICH IT WOULD, IN 
ALL PROBABILITY, NEVER HAVE BEEN WRITTEN. 


J. A. B., 1920. 








CONTENTS 


CHAr. PAG* 

I. Her Own Shoes i 

II. The Same 12 

III. The Shoes of the Little Girl Next Door 23 

IV. The Same 48 

V. The Shoes of the Princess 58 

VI. The Same 79 

VII. The Shoes of the Little Match Girl 95 

VIII. Dolly Goes to Dream-Land 115 

IX. Her Own Shoes Again 137 



LIST OF COLOURED PLATES 


“ Here we go round, here we go round ” (page 16) Frontispiece 

Seated around the fountain were little ) 

girls dressed in rich garments f ace ^° 

“ I am glad to see you,” she cried .. .. ,, 98 

Dolly approached the Queen and sat down ) 
on the grass .. .. .. .. J 


LIST OF FULL PAGE BLACK AND 
WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS 


She stared at the little bronze man 
She felt a little bit frightened 
" Jump in, my dear,” said the gentleman 
“ We brought you,” said a beautiful rose 
They arrived at the border of a dark forest 


5 

13 

33 

. 109 

• 125 


Also chapter headings and smaller drawings 












“ c Here we go round, here we go round, as fast as our 
feet can touch the ground/ ** 














































I. HER OWN SHOES 

44 It's really very annoying/* said Dolly to 
herself, “ that one can never do anything one 
likes ; it's * Miss Dolly don't do this/ and 
Miss Dolly don't do that/ all day long/' 
and the child curled herself up on the hearth¬ 
rug before the nursery fire and hugged her 
disreputable Gollywog doll with all her might. 
44 Oh, Woggy," she said with a sigh, “ wouldn't 
it be lovely if there were no nurse and no bed¬ 
time, and no—no anything ; if one needn't 
do any horrid lessons and sums and things, 
and could just play all day and eat jam on 
cake for tea. Oh Woggy, wouldn't it be 
splendid ! " 

The Gollywog said nothing, he only looked 
wise and put his head on one side, with a 


i 















HER OWN SHOES 


knowing expression on his flat face which 
seemed to say, “ Ah ! my dear little girl, if 
I might speak, I could teach you a lot of 
things, but being only a doll I am not allowed 
to give an opinion on anything." 

The cause of all the trouble was this. It 
had been a wet day, and what with the dull 
sky and no walk in the morning, Dolly had 
been what nurse calls ‘ fractious/ and con¬ 
sequently troublesome, and, having been re¬ 
fused permission at tea to eat raspberry and 
currant jam on cake, she had given vent to 
her wrath by being rude to nurse, and had 
forthwith been stood in the corner for half- 
an-hour. But, now her punishment was over, 
and it was a rather shame-faced little girl 
who confided her woes to the Gollywog as she 
sat before the nursery fire. 

"You see Woggy, I don't see why I 
mayn’t have jam on cake, do you ? ’Deera 
cake’s very like bread, isn’t it ? Nurse says 
it’s bad for me, but if I have jam on bread 
first, and ’deera cake afterwards, she doesn’t 
say anything about it ; and when I asked 


2 


HER OWN SHOES 


what the difference was, she said she wasn't 
going to argue with children, and then, just 
because I said she was a silly, cross old thing, 
she put me in the corner. Oh ! Woggy, 
Woggy, I'm afraid I'm a bad, wicked little 
girl ! " And she heaved a deep sigh and 
thought hard for several minutes. “ I wonder 
if other little girls are as naughty as I am/' 
she said presently. “ Nurse says the little 
girl next door's a good little girl. Oh ! 
Woggy, why can't I be some other good little 
girl, why can’t I ? ” And a big tear dripped 
off her pretty little nose and fell on the face of 
the Gollywog. " I wonder why I can’t be 
somebody else, Woggy,” she went on after 
a short pause, “ Wouldn't it be fun ? ” 

The doll of course said nothing, but the 
bronze statuette that adorned the top of the 
clock nodded his head. 

“ I quite agree with you, my dear,” he said 
in a low voice, “ it would be fun.” 

“ I beg your pardon, did you speak ? ” 
asked Dolly sitting up suddenly, and looking 
rather frightened. 


3 


HER OWN SHOES 


“ I answered your question, that was all," 
he replied as he uncurled himself from what 
must have been a very uncomfortable position, 
and took a seat on the edge of the mantle- 
piece. 

She stared at the little bronze man, rubbed 
her eyes hard, and stared again. No, there 
could be no mistake, there he sat, swinging 
his legs to and fro, and leaning easily against 
the face of the clock. 

“ What’s the matter, Dolly ? he said. 
“ Don’t be frightened; I shan’t hurt you." 

" Oh ! I’m not frightened,’’ she replied, 
" only—er—’stonished, you know, that’s all." 

“ Well, I can’t see much cause for surprise," 
laughed her visitor, “ you can’t expect me 
to stop here for ever, can you ? " and he 
nodded towards the vacant seat on the top 
of the clock. 

“ Oh no, of course not, only I never thought 
you were a real man you know, I just 
thought you belonged to the clock." 

“ So I do, so I do. I’ve belonged to the 
clock quite a long time now, but sometimes 

4 



“ She stared at the little bronze man." 












































HER OWN SHOES 


I come down for a rest. I don't usually 
move till good little girls and boys are in bed, 
and the nursery is dark, but I got cramp in 
my foot so badly just now, that I couldn't 
wait. Besides, something you said interested 
me." 

“ I only said what fun it would be to be 
somebody else/' said Dolly, " but of course 
I know I can't." 

" Why not ? " The little man rapped out 
the question so sharply that he made her 
jump. 

“ Well, I can't be any other little girl, can 
I ? I can only be me, you know—but of 
course I don't know just why—except that— 
I can't, so don't be so silly." 

" I think you are a very rude child," said 
the little man. “ In all the years that I have 
belonged to the clock, I have never yet been 
called silly." And he looked so injured that 
Dolly felt quite ashamed of herself. 

“ Oh ! I beg your pardon," said she, " I 
didn’t mean to be rude—really I didn’t. 
Only, well, you were just a little tiny bit silly, 

7 





HER OWN SHOES 


weren’t you, to say I could be somebody 
else ? ” And she smiled up wistfully at the 
figure on the mantlepiece. 

“ Perhaps it did sound silly to you ,’’ he 
replied, somewhat mollified by her apology ; 
“ but you can be somebody else if you like, 
and do what you are told." 

“ I think you are a very wicked little man," 
said Dolly, slowly wagging her finger at him, 
“ to tell such horrid, horrid stories." 

"I’m not telling stories—don’t be rude ! " 
snapped the little man. 

" I don’t want to be rude," said Dolly, 
" only you know where people go to who tell 
stories, don’t you ? " 

“ Oh well ! of course if you don’t want to 
be somebody else, I had better get back on 
the clock again—only I heard you say you 
would like to be, and I thought I would help 
you." 

Dolly stared at her visitor for a moment. 

“ Do you really mean that I can be some¬ 
body else if I want to ? ’’ she asked eagerly, 
“ and shall I still have Woggy ? " 

8 




HER OWN SHOES 


“ Of course you can,” he replied. 

“ Anybody else I like ? ” 

" Yes.” 

“ Oh ! that will be fun,” she cried, clap¬ 
ping her hands—“ When can I begin to be 
somebody else—and what must I do—and 
who shall I be first ? ” 

“ Not quite so fast, one question at a time. 
Who do you want to be ? ” 

Dolly thought for a moment. 

" Really,” she said, ” I don’t know, I can’t 
think of anybody but myself. Oh ! I know, 
the little girl next door ! She’s a good little 
girl you know. Oh ! I should love to be the 
little girl next door.” 

“ Very well—you shall be the little girl 
next door, the moment you wear her shoes— 
you can be anybody else you like if you wear 
their shoes.” 

" Could I be you ? ” Dolly enquired eagerly. 

” I haven’t got any shoes—you know that 
quite well,” he said, looking angrily at his 
naked feet. 

“ I beg your pardon, I didn’t see. Don’t 

9 







HER OWN SHOES 


your feet ever feel cold ? But how am I to 
get the shoes of the little girl next door ? ” 
she asked, not waiting for an answer, and with 
just a suspicion of anxiety in her voice—“ I 
don’t know her very well, and perhaps her 
mother would not let her lend them to me.” 

“ We must take them.” 

“ Oh !—” Dolly opened her mouth very 
wide and stared at the little man with horror 
in her eyes. " Do you mean steal them ? ” 
she said slowly. 

“ No, just borrow them—you must lend 
her yours, and she will lend you hers, no one 
will know the difference as they are just 
alike.” 

“ Oh, I see,” she said, with a sigh of relief, 
" of course if she lends them to rne that will 
be all right. Shall I ask nurse to speak to 
her mother.” 

“ No you leave that to me,” replied the 
little man. " After nurse has put you to bed, 
you must get up very quietly and put your 
shoes outside the door, and when you hear 
the big church clock strike twelve, you must 

io 





HER OWN SHOES 


get up and come down here, where you will 
find me waiting for you. Now don’t forget. 
—Hush ! I hear nurse coming, so I must 
return to the clock,” and nodding his head 
at Dolly he jumped quickly into his place as 
the door opened and nurse came in. 

“ Come, Miss Dolly,” she said—" run down 
and say ‘ Good night ’ and come to bed—your 
bath will be quite ready in ten minutes.” 
And Dolly got up very slowly and did as she 
was told. 


n 





II. THE SAME 

One — two — three — four — five — six — 
seven — eight — nine — ten — eleven — 
twelve. Dolly sat up in bed. It was quite 
dark in the room, and she could see the stars 
shining through the muslin curtain that cov¬ 
ered the window. 

“ They must have gone to bed I think,” 
she said to herself as she got up and put on 
her little blue dressing gown. Then she felt 
for her shoes, and not finding them, remem¬ 
bered that she had put them outside, after 
nurse had left her. She opened the door, 
and looked out on the dark landing. The 
house was quite still, and she felt a little bit 
frightened ; it was so dark and quiet, but she 
was a brave little girl, and after a moment's 


12 

















H. T. nU/e,r 


“ She felt a little bit frightened/’ 





















































































THE SAME 


pause commenced her journey to the nursery 
on the floor below. She could see the stars 
twinkling through the big landing window, as 
she groped her way down, guiding herself by 
the bannisters. Arrived at the next floor she 
stood for a moment listening. " What would 
nurse and mother say/' she thought, “ if they 
knew what she was doing ! and what will 
they do to-morrow morning when they find 
that there is no Dolly ! Perhaps then nurse 
will be sorry that she put her in the corner, 
and would not give her jam with her cake/' 
Carefully she made her way down the passage 
till she came to the nursery door. She stood 
listening for any sound from within, but all 
was quiet, save for the solemn tick-tick of the 
great clock in the hall below. Slowly she 
turned the handle, and the next moment she 
was standing inside the room amazed at what 
she saw. And indeed it was a strange sight. 

The room was ablaze with light, and a bright 
fire still burned in the fireplace. The cloth 
had been removed, and with joined hands 
and nimble feet, her five dolls danced round 

15 


THE SAME 


a pair of small shoes which stood in the centre 
of the table, while in his old place on the 
mantlepiece, beating time with a match, sat 
the little man. 

“Now then, all together," he cried, waving 
the match in the air, and the dolls commenced 
to sing : 

" Here we go round, here we go round 
As fast as our feet can touch the 
ground." 

And as they sang they danced, faster and 
faster they sang, and faster and faster they 
danced, and faster and faster the little bronze 
man beat time, swaying himself to and fro, 
waving his arms and nodding his head in the 
most ridiculous manner. Faster, faster and 
faster still, then they suddenly stopped, and 
fell exhausted on the table. 

“ Bravo ! bravo ! " cried the little man, 
“ well danced and well sung." 

Then Dolly, recovering from her surprise, 
closed the door and advanced into the centre 
of the room. 

“ Here she is," cried the dolls in chorus, 

16 


THE SAME 

“ here she is, hurrah ! hurrah ! we’ve got 
the shoes! ” 

“ Matilda Jane,” said Dolly severely, ad¬ 
dressing her favourite doll. “ I'm ashamed 
of you, you've torn the new dress I gave you 
only two days ago, and—oh ! Dora ! what 
have you done to your face ? It's cracked 
all down the side and your eyes have fallen 
in.” 

“ Ha ! ha ! ha ! ” laughed the little bronze 
man, ” dolls will be dolls, let them enjoy them¬ 
selves while they are young.” 

" Go back to your house at once, all of you,” 
cried Dolly stamping her foot angrily, and 
pointing to the open doll's house in the corner 
by the window, " and oh ! Woggy, I will 
punish you to-morrow ! ” 

” No you won't, my dear,” laughed the 
Gollywog, “ you’ll be the little girl next door 
then.” 

" Yes,” shouted all the dolls together, 
” you'll be the little girl next door then ! ” 
and they all joined hands and commenced 
dancing round the shoes again, singing : 

17 


THE SAME 


“ Here we go round, here we go round 
As fast as our feet can touch the 
ground.” 

Then poor little Dolly sank down in a chair 
and, burying her face in her hands, began to 
cry. 

She must have cried herself to sleep, for 
when she raised her head again the room was 
quite quiet ; the dolls had gone, and only the 
shoes remained upon the table. The little 
bronze man sat nodding in his seat upon the 
mantlepiece, but as she looked up he seemed 
to waken. 

" Come,” he said, “ it is time you became 
the little girl next door, my dear, so put on 
your shoes and we will go to your new home.” 
and as he spoke, he jumped lightly on the 
table, and using all his strength, pushed one 
of the shoes towards her. Dolly watched 
him with amusement. It seemed so funny 
to see the tiny little man struggling so hard 
with the shoe that she could pick up with 
one finger. 

“ Oh, please don't tire yourself,” she said, 

18 


THE SAME 


as he stopped for a moment and wiped his 
forehead with the back of his hand—“ please 
let me fetch them.” So saying, she got up 
and took one of the shoes from the table, and 
sat down on the floor. 

“ It doesn’t fit very well,” she said when 
after a good deal of difficulty she had put it 
on—“ it hurts me.” 

“ Oh, you’ll soon get used to it,” laughed 
the little man, as he pushed the other shoe 
an inch or two nearer the edge of the table. 
Dolly got up, and taking the second shoe, 
slowly commenced to squeeze her foot into 
it. She had nearly succeeded when she 
thought of something that had not occurred 
to her before. She stopped suddenly and 
looked at the little man who was resting him¬ 
self lying full length on the edge of the table. 

“ I beg your pardon,” she said, " but 
suppose I don't like being the little girl next 
door ? ” 

The little man sat up with a jerk. 

“ What did you say ? ” he asked—“ not 
like being the little girl next door ? So you 



THE SAME 


think that perhaps you will not like it, do 
you ? Well, we shall see. If you do not 
like it, I will let you be any other little girl 
you choose, and then you can tell me which 
one you like being best.” 

” Thank you very much,” said Dolly, 
“ you see I might miss being myself, mightn't 
I ? ” 

“ We shall see, we shall see,” laughed the 
little man, “ but come, on with the other shoe 
or it will soon be too late.” 

Dolly crossed the room quickly, and going 
to the doll's house took out the Gollywog, 
and then sitting down by the fire squeezed 
on the second shoe, and as she fastened the 
strap a strange thing happened, and she felt 
herself growing smaller and the shoes getting 
easier, till at last they were very nearly com¬ 
fortable. She glanced at the dressing-gown 
and saw that it was changing colour, it was 
turning from blue to a dingy red, and her 
curly fair hair which hung over her shoulders 
was changing colour too, and growing straight 
and brown She also noticed that the pretty 

20 


THE SAME 


little gold bracelet mother had given her was 
no longer on her wrist, and then she felt the 
little bronze man take her hand and lead her 



gently towards the chimney. As they 
reached the mantlepiece the wall seemed to 
melt away, and hand in hand they passed out 
of the old nursery into the new—out of the 
old life into a new—and she became aware 
that she was no longer Dolly, but the little 
girl next door. As she realised the change 
that had taken place she felt quite frightened, 
and thought of mother and nurse, her dolls 

21 















THE SAME 


and her own dear little bed, and she tried to 
kick off her left shoe with the toe of the right, 
but it was too tight, and then she grasped 
the Gollywog in her arms, for she felt herself 
falling gently downwards. Down — down — 
down. 

“ I will come again to-morrow, little girl 
next door ! ” whispered the little bronze man, 
“ good-bye till then ! ” 

And then she seemed to fall asleep. 


22 




III. THE SHOES OF THE LITTLE 
GIRL NEXT DOOR 


“ Oh ! What a funny dream Tve had,” 
said Dolly to herself, as she woke up in the 
morning, “ I must tell nurse about it when she 
comes to dress me, and that funny little man 
who belongs to the clock, it seemed quite real, 
not a bit like a dream.” She sat up in bed^ 
and then she noticed that the room was quite 
different from her own. There were no pretty 
pictures on the walls, and she was lying in a 
plain iron bed not half so nice as her own 
little brass one with its pretty white curtains 
tied at the top with a big blue ribbon. The 
wall paper too was quite different, and there 
were two windows, while her own room had 

23 








THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


only one. She rubbed her eyes very hard. 

“ I must be dreaming still, I suppose,” 
she said out loud, and her voice sounded 
quite strange, “ but I don’t feel a bit as if I 
were asleep,” For some moments she sat 
up, thinking very hard. “ I suppose I must 
really be the little girl next door,” she thought. 
" What shall I do ? ” 

“ Miss Mildred,” said a strange voice, “ it 
is time to get up.” 

Dolly looked round and saw a young woman 
she had never seen before standing beside her 
bed. She had been thinking so much that 
she had not heard her come in. She called 
her ‘ Mildred,’ and now Dolly knew for certain 
that what had happened was not a dream 
after all, but that she was really and truly the 
little girl next door. 

“ Come, Miss Mildred,” said her new nurse, 
“ you must be quick or you will be late for 
breakfast.” 

Slowly Dolly got out of bed and let nurse 
wash and dress her. “ There,” she said 
presently as she fastened the last button of 

24 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


a clean pianfore, “ now come along to the 
nursery/' 

Dolly followed her and was astonished to 
find that she knew her way about the house 
quite well, although she had never been in 
it before. “ Now sit by the fire, and I will 
fetch your breakfast, Miss Mildred,” said 
nurse when they had arrived at the nursery. 
Still wondering, Dolly obeyed, and as soon 
as she was alone she got up and began to 
examine her surroundings. The table was 
laid for breakfast, but the plates, cups, and 
saucers were not nearly so pretty as those in 
her own home. In a corner by the window 
was a cupboard which she opened. Inside, 
there were three broken dolls, a small musical 
box, a box of bricks, and a cheap tin train. 

“ Oh dear, I wish I was not the little girl 
next door,” she said, as she thought of her 
own pretty toys, “ I wish I was just Dolly 
again ! I hate being called * Mildred/ ” 
Then she looked at the things on the mantel¬ 
piece and for a moment was too astonished 
to move, for standing in the same place and 

25 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


ticking in the same way, was a clock exactly 
like the one in her own nursery at home, and 
there was the funny little bronze man, curled 
up in the same uncomfortable position that 
she had always seen him in. 

“ How strange/’ she said to herself, “ that 
the little girl next door should have a clock 
like mine ! I wonder who gave it to her.” 
And somehow she felt comforted ; the room 
didn’t seem so strange with her own clock 
on the mantelpiece. 

The door opened and nurse came in carry¬ 
ing a tray. 

“ Come along Miss Mildred,” she said, “ and 
eat your porridge while it is hot.” 

Now, if there was one thing Dolly disliked 
more than another it was porridge. She 
never had it at home, and as she pulled a 
chair across to the table she wondered if 
nurse would make her eat it. 

“ Please nurse, I don’t like porridge,” she 
said, after she had made an heroic attempt 
to swallow the first spoonful. 

" Not like porridge, Miss Mildred ? Why 

26 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


yesterday 3^011 grumbled at your cornflour, 
and begged me to give you porridge this 
morning. I never heard such a thing, you 
eat it up this minute.’’ 

“ I can’t eat it nurse, realty I can’t, I—I 
hate it,” sobbed Dolly, pushing her plate 
away. 

“ Then, not another thing do you have if 
you can’t eat good porridge,” said nurse 
angrily, “ and I shall tell your mother when 
she comes up what a dainty little girl you are. 
I’m sure that dear little girl next door is 
eating her breakfast, as good as gold.” 

“ That’s me,” thought Dolly, and the tears 
came into her eyes as she suddenly remem¬ 
bered that it was bacon morning in her own 
home. 

Just then a tall dark lady wearing spec¬ 
tacles came into the room. “ Good morning 
Mildred, what are you crying about ? ” she 
said. 

“ Miss Mildred is very dainty, mum, refuses 
to eat her nice porridge,” said nurse. 

“ Very well, then don’t let her have any 

27 



THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


breakfast at all,” she said, looking severely 
at Dolly. 

“ There, Miss Mildred, you hear what your 
mother says—now are you going to eat your 
breakfast ? ” 

“ No, I won’t,” shouted Dolly, now very 
angry, “ I hate it ! ” 

“ Mildred, I’m ashamed of you,” said her 
new mother, “ I hope you will be in a better 
frame of mind at dinner time—meanwhile go 
and stand in the corner till you are good,” 

Dolly got off her chair and went into the 
corner, crying bitterly. " Oh, I wish I wasn’t 
the little girl next door,” she said to herself. 
She heard the plates rattling as nurse cleared 
away the breakfast things, and presently the 
door closed, and she was alone. 

She left her corner and went to the window, 
and for a long time watched the people passing 
to and fro in the street below. Presently 
nurse came back. 

“ You will not be able to go for your walk 
this morning, Miss Mildred, as it is raining 
again, so you must play with your toys and 

28 



THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


amuse yourself as best you can ; and do try 
not to be naughty, there’s a good girl. I 
can’t think what has come to the child,” she 
continued to herself, “ she seems quite dazed,” 
Dolly went to the toy cupboard and brought 
out the broken dolls, the box of bricks, and 
the train, but try as she would she could take 
no pleasure in her play. The dolls were not 
much to look at, the two little girl dolls were 
broken and the smaller of the two had lost 
her eyes, which gave a most curious expres¬ 
sion to her round fat face. The third was a 
gentleman doll, made of kid, and being in¬ 
destructible he was in a far better condition 
than the other two. Certainly he was a little 
dirty, but that was excusable in Dolly’s eyes, 
so she singled him out, and, having christened 
him * Dandini ’ after the prince in the pan¬ 
tomime, introduced him to Woggy, and played 
at doctor and patient until she was tired of 
it. Then she turned her attention to the 
bricks. They had once been a complete set, 
but most of the ornamental pieces had been 

lost, so the results of her building efforts were 

29 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


not very satisfactory. “ Oh dear,” she said, 
“ I can't make the things fit at all. I’m tired 
of bricks,” and with a sweep of her hand she 
destroyed the result of ten or twelve minutes’ 
labour. “ Toys are silly things. They don’t 
understand anything,” she continued, “ and 
dolls are the silliest of all.” 

“ I beg your pardon,” said the kid doll, 
" what did you say ? ” 

Dolly stared at the speaker for a moment. 
“ Did you speak ? ” she said at length. 

“ What a ridiculous question to ask ; you 
know perfectly well that he spoke,” mumbled 
one of the lady dolls in a sleepy tone, as she 
lay flat on her back on the floor. 

" Yes, my dear, I ventured to make a re¬ 
mark, have you any objection ? ” and the 
gentleman doll got on to his feet and glared 
at Dolly as though he would eat her, boots 
and all. 

“ I didn’t mean to offend you,” she replied, 
“ please forgive me.” 

" I will forgive you with pleasure as far as 
I am personally concerned ; but what about 

30 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


the insulting remarks you have made about 
my nation ? ” 

" Insulting remarks/' said Dolly, “ what 
do you mean ? ” 

“ You said just now that dolls were the 
silliest of all toys,” persisted the gentleman 
doll, “ and that is a reflection on my nation 
that I cannot permit. You are speaking in 
ignorance, I have no doubt, but I must try to 
convince you that the inhabitants of Toy- 
land are more sensible than you would think. 
The train will be here directly, so you had 
better get ready.” 

“ Ready for what ? ” 

“ For a journey to Toy-land. I am going to 
take you to meet the toys that you pretend 
to despise, in their own country. I will in¬ 
troduce you to our king, and when you come 
back you can tell all your little boy and girl 
friends what you think of us.” 

“ I never knew you had a country of your 
own,” said Dolly, “ but where are we going 
to catch the train ? ” 

“ Why at the station of course, where do 

3i 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


you suppose ? Ah, here she comes/’ and 
sure enough the toy train came crawling 
slowly out of its box and pulled up with a jerk 
close to the coal-scuttle. 

“ All aboard,” shouted the Gollywog, jump¬ 
ing off the table where Dolly had put him. 
“ Now, any more for Toy-land ? ” 

“ Jump in, my dear,” said the gentleman 
doll, politely offering his hand to Dolly. 

“ But I shall never be able to get in that,” 
she answered, laughing. " I shall crush it 
all to bits if I put my foot on it.” 

“ Just try,” he persisted; “ you will find 
that it will bear you perfectly.” 

“ Well, it will be your own fault if I break 
it,” and so saying she got into one of the blue 
trucks, and to her intense astonishment found 
that there was plenty of room for both 
the doll and herself. 

When they were seated the lady dolls 
climbed into the other truck, the Gollywog 
waved his hand, and, with one shrill whistle, 
the train began its journey. They passed 
under the table, took a sharp turn round one 

32 


XK 



“Jump in, my dear/' said the gentleman. 


























































THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


of the legs of the armchair, and entered the 
toy cupboard ; and then for a long time it 
was quite dark. 

“ This is the only tunnel we have on the 
way/' said the gentleman doll in answer to 
Dolly’s remark that she hoped they would 
soon be in daylight again, “ and we are 
nearly through it now.” And sure enough 
away in the distance was a small circular 
patch of light, which momentarily grew 
bigger and bigger ; it was the keyhole, and at 
last with a rattle and a roar they were out of 
the darkness, and running rapidly through 
the beautiful green fields of Toy-land. 

" What a strange country,” said Dolly to 
her companion, “ just look at the trees, they 
are exactly like those I had in my Noah’s Ark, 
and so are the cows,” and she pointed ex¬ 
citedly to some wooden cattle who were graz¬ 
ing in an emerald green meadow which they 
were passing. 

“ That is nothing strange, my dear,” he 
replied, " all our cows are like that.” 

“ Oh, look ! what ever is that ? ” and she 

35 


c 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


pointed to a curious cardboard building which 
they were approaching. 

“ A fortress; and see, there are some 
soldiers coming out,” and as he spoke a lot 
of lead soldiers marched through the open 
gate. There were several hundred of them, 
some were mounted but most were on foot, 
and they were preceded by a band which 
played a most beautiful march to which they 
kept perfect time, and last of all came the 
cannon and the ammunition carts loaded with 
dried peas. 

" Are they going to fight ? ” asked Dolly, 
as they left the soldiers behind. 

"No, only exercise, or manoeuvres, so that 
we may be prepared for war if we ever have 
one.” 

For a long time Dolly sat without speaking. 
Everything she saw was quite different to 
what she had expected, for she found that 
Toy-land was a real country after all, and 
she was amazed. Presently she felt the train 
slackening speed, and in a few moments more 
it came to a standstill at a station. The 

36 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


platform was made of tin, and the porters 
and other railway officials were wooden men 
like the ones in her Noah's Ark. 

“ This is the terminus, we get out here," 
said the gentleman doll. So they jumped 
out of the truck and entered a tin cab, the 
driver wound it up with a key, and they went 
bowling along through the streets of the 
town. It was a funny place, there were rows 
and rows of Dolls' houses, and all the shops 
were open, that is to say they had no roofs or 
windows, and the butchers' were filled with 
plaster of Paris joints, and the grocery stores 
consisted of tiers of tiny little drawers placed 
one above the other. The shopmen were all 
exactly alike, and stood at the doors of their 
respective establishments on little green 
wooden stands, proclaiming in shrill tones the 
merits of their goods. 

There were some beautifully dressed dolls 
walking about, and each one carried a ticket 
round its neck, on which was inscribed its price. 

" What's that for ? " asked Dolly, pointing 
out the tickets to her companion. 

37 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


“ Those are marks of rank/’ he explained, 
“ for instance—you see that beautiful lady 
over there dressed in red. She is marked 
fifty shillings. That means that she is a 
Duchess at least, and that little wooden doll, 
labelled sixpence, is one of quite the lowest 
class. There, did you see how the Duchess 
pushed him out of the way ? Look, he has 
fallen down in the gutter." 

“ Well! he doesn't seem to mind very 
much, does he ? " said Dolly, “ but the 
Duchess has been knocked down now ! " and 
sure enough she had been pushed down by 
a big doll dressed as a bride who was walking 
in the opposite direction. 

* ‘ She is marked seven pounds ten,' ’ explained 
the gentleman doll, “ she is a princess at the 
very least." The Duchess picked herself up, 
and casting a venomous look at the Princess, 
smoothed her crumpled skirt and went on 
her way. “ Here we are," he continued as 
the cab stopped outside a big house with 
painted windows. “ This is the King's palace, 
and we are going to see him, so jump out." 

38 



THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 

When the cab had gone, he knocked loudly 
at the door, the front of the house opened, 
and they walked into the big drawing-room. 
Several little dolls met them, and said that 
His Majesty would see them shortly, and 
wished them to dine with him. So as soon 
as they had gone, the gentleman doll went to 
a looking glass over the fireplace, and tied a 
label round his neck. It was marked seventeen 
and sixpence. “ It is not a very high rank, 
you know/' he said, “ but being a kid doll 
and indestructible, it places me before lots of 
others who cost two or three pounds/' 

“ Shall I have to wear a ticket too ? " asked 
Dolly. 

" Oh no, you are a mortal, so you have no 
price ; at least, he corrected himself, “ not in 
Toy-land. You are a guest and must be 
treated with every courtesy and considera¬ 
tion." 

“ How funny the furniture looks," she said, 
" all the chairs seem too high, and the table 
is so low that I am sure I could not sit at it 
if I tried." 


39 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 

“ It is not meant to sit at, my dear, all 
tables in Toy-land are only for show, or if they 
are used at all, we stand up. You see it is 
only the French-jointed dolls that can sit 
down.” 

“ But don’t you get tired of always standing 
up?” 

“ We lie down when we are tired ; at least 
I do. You see I simply can’t sit down, be¬ 
cause my knees won’t bend. That’s one of 
the drawbacks of being made of kid.” 

“ Will you step this way, if you please,” 
squeaked a tiny little man dressed like a 
soldier, and wearing a tiny sword. ” His 
Majesty is prepared to receive you.” 

" Come along, my dear,” said the gentle¬ 
man doll, “ follow me.” The soldier led them 
into a little hall, up a flight of stairs, and, 
throwing open a door, ushered them into a 
big room with two small windows, and there 
was the King, sitting on an organ and holding 
a violin in his hand. The Queen sat next to 
him, and she carried a tambourine. 

“I’m sorry I can’t get off my throne,” said 

40 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


the King, “that is one of the disadvant¬ 
ages of my rank, but if you will turn the handle 
we will play you a tune/' 

Dolly stepped forward and turned the 
handle; the organ played, and the King 
scraped the violin with his bow and pulled 
such funny faces, opening his mouth and 
blinking his eyes, while the Queen rattled 
the tambourine, and bowed and twisted about 
on her chair as if she felt uncomfortable. 

“ Fm very glad to see you, Dolly,” said the 
King, when the tune was finished. “ The 
Queen and I find it very dull up here, and 
we are always glad to see a stranger. Per¬ 
sonally I would rather not be King at all, but 
being marked ten pounds, as you can see, I 
simply can't help myself.” 

“ I should have thought you would have 
liked being King,” said Dolly. " Kings have 
a lovely time and can do just as they like.” 

“ Do they ? ” replied His Majesty. “ I 
don't know so much about that. I've been 
trying to get off this wretched organ for years, 
but I'm still here you see.” 

4i 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


“ Yes,” squeaked the Queen, “ and if you 
only knew how my arm aches from holding 



up this tambourine you would feel sorry for 
me.” 

“ I am sure it must be very tiring,” said 
Dolly, “ I don’t think I should care to sit 
there always, myself.” 

" Well, well, it’s no use grumbling, is it ? ” 

42 
































THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


said His Majesty yawning, " but we must 
give you some refreshment before you leave 
us, for you must be both hungry and thirsty/' 
As he spoke the door opened, and a lot of 
dolls dressed like cooks in white caps and 
aprons entered the room. Each one carried 
a little covered dish, which he placed on a 
table standing at one end of the room. 

" There, my dear,” said the Queen, “ lunch 
is ready, so the sooner you commence the 
better.” 

" Thank you very much, I think I am 
rather hungry,"answered Dolly, as she raised 
one of the covers, “ but how am I to eat this ? 
It won't come off the dish and it's quite hard, 
I believe it's made of wood ! ” 

" Of course it is,” said the King, “ all dolls' 
food is made of wood or plaster of Paris, and 
it isn't meant to come off the dishes, but I'm 
sure it looks very nice.” 

“ But looking at it won't make me less 
hungry,” objected Dolly. 

“ It satisfies me at any rate,” said the King, 
" why, I’ve nearly finished my lunch already; 

43 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


but perhaps you have different food from this 
in your country.” 

“ Yes, your Majesty,” broke in the kid doll, 
“ little girls have quite a different kind of food 
from ours, and they eat it in another way also, 
they put it in their mouths and swallow it.” 

“ How very extraordinary,” murmured the 
Queen, " fancy eating in that way.” 

” Well, I’m afraid we have no other kind 
of food in this country,” said the King, " so 
perhaps you had better go back to your own 
land if you are hungry.” 

“ Thank you very much ! Perhaps it 
would be better,” Dolly answered. 

" Come along, then,” said the kid doll, 
jumping up, " we shall just be able to catch 
the next train back.” 

They said good-bye to the King and Queen, 
and shortly found themselves once more in 
the green truck speeding back towards the 
nursery of the little girl next door. They 
arrived safely, but as the train emerged from 
the cupboard, Dolly was feeling very miser¬ 
able. She wanted her own mother, her own 

44 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


nurse, and her own toys. Oh ! if she could 
only go back home again, how happy she 
would be ! Why shouldn't she ? It would 
be so easy to slip down the stairs presently 
when nurse was out of the room, open the 
front door—and knock at her own door— 
she could just reach the knocker if she stood 
on tip-toe. Yes, that’s what she would do, 
and then she would tell mother and nurse all 
about it, say she was sorry for having been 
naughty, and they would forgive her, and 
everything would be right again. 

She did not get an opportunity of carrying 
out her plan until very nearly tea-time, and 
then nurse said she was going down to iron 
some handkerchiefs, and left her alone. As 
soon as she could no longer hear her footsteps, 
she slipped out of the nursery and tripped 
lightly down the stairs into the hall. With 
some difficulty she opened the big door, and 
the next moment she was on her own doorstep. 

“ Why bless my heart," said Emma, the 
parlourmaid, "if it isn't the little girl next 
door ! You've come to Miss Dolly's birthday 

45 


THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


party, I suppose. Come along, and I’ll take 
you upstairs.” 

With her little heart beating wildly, she 
followed Emma, and in a few moments was 



t -r. up¬ 


standing among several other children in her 
own dear nursery, and a little girl came to 
her, a little girl just like herself, wearing her 
best frock and the gold bangle her mother 
had given her. 


46 



















THE LITTLE GIRL NEXT DOOR 


“ How-do-you-do, little girl next door ? ” 
she said. “ Come and see all my pretty 
presents. It’s my birthday, you know/' but 
this was too much for Dolly. Bursting into 
tears she fled from the room—rushed down 
stairs and out of the house, and very soon 
she was crying bitterly in the nursery of the 
little girl next door. 



47 








IV. THE SAME 

“ Oh dear, oh dear, what shall I do ? ” 
sighed Dolly as she sat alone in the firelight 
after tea. “ How can I be myself again, and 
get away from this horrid house ? The funny 
little man who belongs to the clock said he 
would come and see me to-day. I do wish he 
would be quick, for I shall ask him to give me 
my own shoes back and let me be Dolly again.” 

" Well, how do you like being the little girl 
next door, dear ? ” said a voice at her elbow. 
She looked down, and standing beside her 
she saw the daintiest little lady imaginable. 
She was quite tiny, no bigger than the 

48 




THE SAME 


smallest doll, and she was dressed so prettily, in 
a beautiful frock made of the silk of spiders* 
webs, which glistened like gold as the red 
light from the fire played upon it. 

“ Oh ! you sweet, pretty little thing ! ** 
cried Dolly delightedly. “ May I pick you 
up? ** 

“ Certainly, my dear/* replied the little 
lady, “ if you will be careful not to hold me 
too tight, and not to crush my frock.** 

Very carefully Dolly picked her up and put 
her on her lap. “ You*ll be more comfy like 
that,** she said, “ now please tell me who 
you are.** 

“ I'm the Dream Fairy, Dolly,** she said, 
“ when little girls and boys are asleep I sit 
on the pillow, and then they dream nice or 
nasty things—just as I wish.** 

“ And could you make me dream just what 
I like ? ** enquired Dolly. 

" Oh yes,** replied the fairy, “ if you were 
a good little girl, I should let you dream about 
all the nicest things you have ever known, 
and you would smile in your sleep and feel 

49 


THE SAME 


quite happy ; but if you were naughty, then 
your dreams would not be nice. You see, 



some children never have anything nice at 
all, except in dreams, and those are the 
children who love me best.” 

“ I see,” said Dolly, " you must be a very 
good fairy. I should love to be a fairy.” 

“ Would you, dear ? Well, perhaps some 

50 















THE SAME 


day you will be. There are lots of fairies 
in the world if people only realised it.” 

“ Do you know,” said Dolly, “ I never 
knew a fairy before, at least, only the little 
bronze man who belongs to the clock, and 
I suppose he is a sort of fairy ? ” 

“ Yes,” replied the little lady, " he is a 
fairy too, or he could not have turned you 
into the little girl next door.” 

“ Oh ! I'm sure I wish he never had,” 
sighed Dolly, “ but,” she went on, " do 
people like you to make them dream things ? ” 

” It all depends, my dear, sometimes they 
are pleased, sometimes they are disappointed ; 
I have known both. But shall I tell you a 
story that will show you what I have done 
for people ? ” 

“ Oh, do please ! I should love it,” 
answered Dolly, setting the fairy more com¬ 
fortably on her lap. 

“ fell,” commenced the Dream Fairy, 
” not very far from here in a dark street, 
there once lived a poor little boy. He had 
no nice nursery or warm fire to sit by, and 


THE SAME 


no toys or anything. He was a cripple and 
his mother was dead, while his father was 
very unkind. All day long he lay on his hard 
bed, for he could not walk, and he was often 
in terrible pain. But he never complained. 
He lay there and tried to be as good as he 
could, though sometimes he was hungry and 
there was nothing for him to eat. 

I used to sit on his pillow and stroke his 
eyes gently with my hand, and he would 
dream that he was quite well and strong 
again, running about in a beautiful garden 
chasing the gaily coloured butterflies, and 
picking the flowers that grew all around him. 
He was so happy then, much happier than 
he had ever been when awake. One night 
I sat on his father’s pillow, and touched his 
eyes, and he dreamed of the days before he 
used to drink, when he had a happy home 
and his little boy could have everything that 
would help to make him well. And he dreamed 
that his wife, who was dead, came and told 
him that if he did not take more care of his 
little boy, he would die too. When he awoke 

52 


THE SAME 


in the morning, he saw what a bad father he 
had been, and he stopped drinking and soon 
earned enough money to go far away from 
the dirty, narrow street, into the beautiful 
green country ; and his little boy got better, 
and now he can really chase the butterflies 
just as he used to in his dreams. So you see, 
Dolly, I do good sometimes, just through 
making people dream/' 

“ I think it was very good of you to make 
the little boy’s father dream,” said Dolly 
thoughtfully. 

‘' But you have not yet told me how you 
like being the little girl next door ? ” said 
the fairy. 

" Oh, I hate it. I do so want my own 
shoes back again, but I don’t know how to 
get them,” and she sighed so sadly that the 
good little fairy felt quite sorry for her. 

“ Oh Dolly,” she said, “ how silly some 
little girls are—they have good homes, kind 
parents, nice toys, and everything that they 
can want, and yet they are not satisfied, but 
sigh to be someone else on the chance of 

53 



THE SAME 


having more ! And then, when they find that 
they have lost by the bargain, they are sorry, 
and want to go back again to what was not 
good enough for them to keep ! ” 

" But please, how can I get my shoes 
back ? " 

“ My dear little girl, you shall have them 
back some day but not yet. You will have 
to wear several other pairs before you find 
them, you shall try different sorts, and then, 
when you have really made up your mind, 
you shall choose those you prefer and wear 
them always. And now good-bye, try and 
think who you would like to be next, and her 
shoes shall be brought to you. Think well 
and tell the little man who belongs to the 
clock and he will do as you wish. You will 
see me again soon—good-bye, little girl next 
door.” 

There was a rustle of silk, and all was still. 
Dolly looked down at her lap, but it was 
empty. The Dream Fairy had left her and 
she felt quite lonely. Then she remembered 
what the little lady had told her, and tried 

54 


I 


THE SAME 


to think whose shoes she would like to wear 
next, but the more she thought, the less she 
could make up her mind. 

“ Oh ! " she said with a sigh, “ I should 
just like to be me again ! But the fairy said 
I must be somebody else first and I can't 
think of anyone." 

“ What do you say to a Princess ? " asked 
a familiar voice. She looked up, and there 
on the mantelpiece sat the little bronze man. 

“ I'm so glad to see you again," said Dolly, 
“ please will you give me back my shoes ? " 

“ Why, don't you like the ones you are 
wearing ? " laughed the little man, “ you 
asked for them yesterday, you know." 

“ Oh no, I don't want to be the little girl 
next door any more, please, I just want my 
own shoes." 

“ But a Princess," urged the little man, 
“ to sit on a throne and wear a golden crown 
on your head, and have all the other children 
bowing down to the ground when you go 
out. Just think how lovely that would 
be." 


55 


THE SAME 


Dolly thought for a moment. 

“ Should I live in a big palace made of 
glass, and would a nasty dragon run away 
with me like the princess in my story book ? ” 
she enquired. 

“ No, of course not,” he replied. " Dragons 
don’t carry off princesses in real life. That’s 
only in a book, you know.” 

“ Well, I don’t think I should mind being 
a princess so much if I could have lots of toys 
and sweets and things—and I suppose I could 
have a white pony and a goat-cart if I were 
a princess, couldn’t I ? ” 

" Most likely. But come, my dear, you 
must make up your mind, for the time is 
passing away, and I have to attend on the 
Dream Fairy later on.” 

” Oh yes,” said Dolly yawning, for she was 
getting very sleepy—“ I think I should like 
to be a princess.” 

“ Then give me your hand, and we will fly 
away together and find the Princess’s shoes.” 
And Dolly took his hand and felt herself 
raised from the ground, and the next moment 

56 



THE SAME 


she was in the open air, floating away to¬ 
wards the stars. 



57 






V. THE SHOES OF THE PRINCESS 

When she awoke the following morning, 
she was astonished to hear the sound of music 
quite near her. Then, some children com¬ 
menced to sing, and she rubbed her eyes and 
looked around. 

What a strange sight met her gaze ! She 
was lying on a beautiful bed, in a great hall 
built of pink marble. Huge pillars supported 
the gorgeously carved ceiling, a fountain 
played in the centre of the chamber, and 
through the arches which took the place of 
windows, the warm sunshine entered, making 
it all seem like a dream of Fairyland. 

58 




THE PRINCESS 

Seated around the fountain were some 
eighteen or twenty little girls dressed in rich 
garments, unlike any she had seen before. 
They were playing softly on strange stringed 
instruments, and singing so charmingly that 
for a few minutes she lay quite still, drinking 
in the sweet sounds. 

“ Oh dear/' she thought, " who am I 
now ? " And then all that had happened 
the day before came back to her mind, and 
she knew that the little bronze man had been 
successful in finding the princess's shoes, and 
that she was a real live Princess, and no 
longer Dolly, or even the little girl next door. 

Presently the music ceased, and two of the 
singers came to the bedside. “ I think she 
is awake," said one, “ but I am not quite 
certain." 

“ Yes, I’m awake," cried Dolly, sitting up, 
“ but who ever are you, and am I really a 
princess ? " 

At the sound of her voice the other little 
girls approached and stood in a circle round 
the bed. 


59 


THE PRINCESS 


“ Oh what pretty little girls you are/' said 
Dolly, " and won’t you sing again ? You 
sing so beautifully, you know.” 

“ We may not sing again, your Highness,” 
replied one of the children, " we are only per¬ 
mitted to sing to you twice during the day, 
once in the morning to awaken you, and again 
in the evening when you go to bed.” 

“ But I want you to sing again,” said Dolly, 

" We would do so with pleasure,” answered 
another little girl, " but your father, the King, 
had expressly forbidden it, as you are aware.” 

“ Is my father a king ? ” asked Dolly 
eagerly, “ but I suppose he must be,” she 
added to herself, “ or I should not be a 
princess.” 

“ Will your Highness deign to rise ? ” said 
an elderly lady, dressed in a stiff black silk 
dress which rustled loudly when she moved. 

“ Must I really get up now ? ” inquired 
Dolly. 

“ Your Highness forgets,” she replied, 
“ that to-day the new routine ordered by 
your royal father commences. It is now 

60 



“ Seated round the fountain were some little girls dressed 

in rich garments.’’ 















THE PRINCESS 


seven, and your Highness’s instructors will 
wait on your Highness at eight thirty.” 

“ Have I got to do lessons ? ” asked Dolly 
anxiously, “ I never thought a princess had 
to learn lessons, but I suppose I had better 
get up. Oh, dear how strange it all seems,” 
and then she got out of bed and her little 
attendants took up their positions on either 
side of her. One held a red velvet cushion 
on which reposed the most beautiful little 
gold crown, while another carried a lovely 
purple cloak trimmed with ermine, just like 
the one worn by the princess in her picture- 
book at home, and when she saw the crown, 
she felt rather pleased that she was a princess. 
" Any way,” she thought, “it is better than 
being the little girl next door.” 

The children then formed a procession, and, 
headed by the lady in the black silk dress, led 
her to a beautiful big bath, also made of pink 
marble, and filled with warm scented water, 
and, when she had been washed, she was 
rapidly dressed in some strange but very 
lovely clothes of rose-coloured silk, em- 

61 


THE PRINCESS 


broidered all over with gold and silver, and 
then the purple cloak was placed on her 
shoulders, and the gold crown on her head, 
and her feet were put into funny looking 
shoes with curious pointed toes that turned up. 

" I wish I could see myself in a looking- 
glass/' she thought. " How strange I must 
look ! May I have a glass ? " she asked. 

“ A what, your Highness ? " replied one 
of the children. 

“ A glass, to see myself in." 

" Your Highness means a mirror," said 
another. “ See, here is one ! " and as she 
spoke she held up a large sheet of silver, so 
brightly polished that Dolly could see herself 
in it almost as plainly as in the dressing- 
table looking-glass at home. 

“ I look just like a little Turkish girl," she 
said, delighted with her appearance, “ and 
— why ! there is my own dear little clock ! " 
and she ran eagerly towards a recess which 
she had not noticed before, and there, sure 
enough, standing on a shelf was her own 
clock, bronze man and all. 

62 


THE PRINCESS 


“ Your Highness is now dressed/' said the 
lady in black, “ we must leave you until this 
evening. Your morning meal will be brought 



you shortly." And then they all went out 
of the hall bowing and walking backwards, 
and looking so funny that Dolly, try as she 
would, could not help laughing. 

When they had gone, she wandered round 
the hall examining everything with great 

63 

















































THE PRINCESS 


curiosity, and when she came to the arches 
she saw that they led to a lovely garden, 
filled with brightly coloured flowers, and great 
palm trees the like of which she had never 
seen before. 

“ Dear me," she said to herself, “ I suppose 
I am really a princess, and there is my dear, 
dear Woggy ! ” And the Gollywog it was 
without a doubt, lying on a beautiful rose¬ 
wood table. “ Oh Woggy, I am so pleased 
to see you/' and she picked up the doll, and 
covered its ugly black face with kisses. 

" The morning meal is served, your Royal 
Highness/’ said a voice behind her. She 
turned round quite startled and saw such a 
strange looking man. His face was almost 
as black as Woggy’s, and he wore a long robe 
of bright blue, while round his head was 
wound an enormous turban of the same rich 
colour. 

“ What a funny man,” she thought. " Who 
are you ? ” she said. 

“ If it please your Highness,” he replied, 
bowing so low that his turban nearly touched 

64 


THE PRINCESS 


the ground, " I am Chuck-Chuck, your High¬ 
ness’s faithful slave, and your breakfast is 
quite ready.” 



“ Why, you look like one of the people I 
saw in the pantomime ; but please don’t bow 
like that, it seems so silly.” 

65 













THE PRINCESS 


“ I am sorry if I do not please your High¬ 
ness/' answered the man, “ but your Highness 
may have me beaten if I do not bow to your 
Highness's liking/' 

“ Good gracious ! what do you mean ? " 
asked Dolly looking quite horrified. 

“ I am but a slave, your Highness, and you 
are the Princess ; so if I do not please your 
Highness, your Highness has but to speak, 
and the whipping master will beat me.” 

" Oh, how awful ! " said Dolly. " Do 
princesses always have slaves ? Oh Woggy, 
I don't think I quite like being a princess." 
And so saying, she followed Chuck-Chuck into 
a beautiful little room where she found a table 
covered with all sorts of strange fruits and 
cakes, and there was milk in a big gold jug, 
and a gold cup for her to drink out of. As 
soon as Chuck-Chuck saw that she was seated, 
he silently withdrew, and she prepared to eat 
the good things before her. 

Closing her eyes she said her grace, and then 
drew a dish of bananas forward. 

“ Your Highness may not eat bananas." 

66 


THE PRINCESS 


Dolly looked round and saw an old man stand¬ 
ing beside her. He wore a long robe of white 
cloth, a broad gold band round his head, and 
in his hand he held a short ivory wand. 

“ I beg your pardon/' she said, " but I like 
bananas, and mother always lets me eat 
them/' 

“ Nevertheless I must forbid bananas," 
replied the old man. “ I am your Highness's 
medical attendant, and am here to watch over 
the health of your Highness," and as he spoke 
he touched the bananas with his wand, and 
they immediately vanished. 

“ Oh never mind ! " said Dolly, looking 
rather surprised. “ Those cakes are lovely," 
and she put out her hand to take one, but 
before her fingers could touch the dish, the 
old man had tapped it with his wand, and 
they also disappeared. 

“ However did you do that ? " she gasped 
in astonishment, but the physician said noth¬ 
ing, he only smiled. “ Would you mind 
telling me what I may eat, please ? " she 
asked after a pause. 

6 7 

E 


THE PRINCESS 


" There is milk in the jug, and good wheaten 
bread beneath the napkin yonder. That is 
right wholesome food and will not harm your 



Highness, and as he spoke he touched every¬ 
thing on the table till there was nothing left 

but the jug of milk and the dish containing 
the bread. 


68 






















THE PRINCESS 


“ Well,” said Dolly, “ if princesses only 
have bread and cold milk for breakfast, I 
don't see much good in being a princess. 
Mother always gives me hot milk, and bacon 
on Wednesdays and Sundays. On what days 
do princesses have bacon, if you please ? ” 
but she received no answer, for the doctor 
had vanished. 

For a few moments she was too frightened 
to do anything, but soon her appetite re¬ 
minded her that bread and milk is better than 
nothing ; so, when she had poured out a cup¬ 
ful of milk, she drew the bread dish towards 
her. 

“ Oh, please be careful,” squeaked a small 
voice which seemed to come from beneath the 
napkin, “ move it very gently or I shall fall 
off.” 

" Whatever can that be ? ” said Dolly, as 
she raised the napkin. “ Oh, you dear little 
thing ! ” and her words fitly described the 
strange little being that she discovered seated 
on the very top of the loaf. She was such a 
tiny creature and her frock was made entirely 

69 


THE PRINCESS 


from the petals of flowers, while on her head 
she wore a rose leaf, shaped into a beautiful 
little hat. 

“ Who ever are you ? ” asked Dolly in 
amazement. 

“ I am the Star Fairy, Dolly,’ ’ replied her 
little visitor. “ I spend all night among the 
stars flying from one to the other keeping the 
lamps burning inside them. If it were not 
for me they would go out, and you would not 
see them twinkling in the sky when bedtime 
comes round/’ 

“ I am delighted to meet you,” said Dolly, 
“ but how do you know my name ? ” 

" The Dream Fairy told me all about you,” 
she replied. “ She is my sister, you know. 
But how do you like being a princess ? ” 

” Well, I’m not quite sure yet. You see, 
I haven't been a princess very long, have I ? 
And I’ve not seen any pony or goat-cart up to 
the present.” 

” That is quite true, dear, you have only 
worn the shoes of the princess a very little 
while. You may see the goat-cart and the 

70 


THE PRINCESS 


pony later on ; but eat your breakfast now 
or you will have to go without any, for it will 
soon be lesson time.” 

“ Would you mind getting off the loaf then,” 
said Dolly, politely, “ and I will cut some 
bread.” 

" Oh I beg your pardon, my dear, how very 
thoughtless I am,” cried the little lady, as she 
jumped nimbly down and seated herself on the 
edge of the dish. 

“ Could you tell me a story, like the Dream 
Fairy did ? ” asked Dolly, as she commenced 
her breakfast. 

“ I could tell you lots of stories if I had the 
time, dear. I see so many strange things when 
I am among the stars.” 

" Do tell me about just one of them ! ” 
pleaded Dolly. “ I am sure you will have 
time for one” 

“ Shall I tell you about a little girl and boy 
that I once knew ? ” asked the fairy, when 
she had thought for a moment. 

“ Yes, please ! I do love stories ! ” 

“ Well,” began the Star Fairy as she settled 

7i 


THE PRINCESS 


herself more comfortably on the side of the 
bread dish, “ once upon a time there were two 
children, brother and sister. They were twins, 
and were very fond of one another, and they 
lived in a pretty thatched cottage in a funny 
little white village by the sea. Their father 
was a fisherman, and had two splendid fish¬ 
ing-boats of his own, and he used to go out 
in one of them every night when the children 
had gone to bed, and, while they were sleep¬ 
ing, he was working hard with his nets, catching 
the fish which on the morrow his wife would 
take to the nearest town and sell in the market. 

The children had for a long time wished to 
go out fishing with their father, but he had 
refused to take them till they were older. 
However, they worried him so much that one 
day he promised that they should accompany 
him the next night.” 

“ Did you know them very well ? ” asked 
Dolly. 

“ I used to see them nearly every evening. 
Sometimes, when the north wind was in a 
good temper, and I could safely leave my 

72 


THE PRINCESS 


lamps for a little while, I would slip down 
their bedroom chimney and meet my sister, 
the Dream Fairy ; and we would watch them 
sleeping, and she would tell them pretty 
stories so that they should have pleasant 
dreams. But when the north wind was angry, 
I could only peep in sometimes through the 
window.” 

" I think it was very nice of you to take 
such care of them,” said Dolly, " but please 
go on.” 

“ Well, the children were delighted,” she 
continued, “ and passed the rest of the day 
talking about the wonderful sights that they 
would see, and they were so impatient for the 
time to come, that the next day seemed as long 
as though it were a week. But at last the 
eventful hour arrived and they were taken on 
board the boat, the big brown sails were 
spread to the breeze, and soon they were out 
of sight of the land. At first it was beautiful, 
the weather was fine and the sea calm. The 
children watched the sun go to bed beneath 
the great ocean, and presently the big moon 

73 


THE PRINCESS 


leaped into view from behind a cloud, and I 
lighted the stars, and they twinkled so merrily 
that the little girl clapped her hands for joy. 
Later on, however, the wind changed and it 
grew dark and cold, and the little ship which 
hitherto had been gliding gently over the 
water, commenced to rock so violently that 
they could hardly stand. 

“ The north wind was very angry that night. 
He had quarrelled with his brother, the East 
wind, and now, out of spite, he rushed wildly 
over the sea, beating the waves till they grew 
as big as mountains, and ordered the clouds to 
blow out the lamps in all the stars. The child¬ 
ren were very frightened by this time, and 
wished that they had not bothered their father 
to bring them. He stood at the helm steering, 
but they had long since lost sight of land, and 
all the stars had gone out, and, to make mat¬ 
ters worse, a great wave came rushing on to 
the deck, displacing a big wooden spar, which 
fell upon the compass, rendering it useless. 
‘ What shall we do now, my children ? * cried 
the poor man. ‘ I do not know which way to 

74 


THE PRINCESS 


go, and the sea is so strong that I can scarcely 
hold the wheel.' Then he called them to him 
and told them how they could help him to 
keep the ship’s nose to the waves so as to 
prevent the sea from swamping them. 

“ ‘ Can we not go home ? ’ cried the little 
girl at last. ‘ I am so tired and so cold.’ 

‘‘ 'Alas ! my children, we are lost,’ said the 
fisherman, ‘ could I but see the north star I 
would take you home.’ And then the children 
begged the North Star to show himself, and 
I felt so sorry for them that I seized an oppor¬ 
tunity when the North Wind was not looking, 
and lighted the lamp in the North Star again, 
and so they reached home in safety after all.” 

“ That was very nice of you,” said Dolly. 
" Thank you very much.” 

" I could tell you many more,” said the 
fairy, “ but it is nearly lesson time.” 

" I never knew that princesses had to do 
lessons,” Dolly remarked, as she helped her¬ 
self to some more milk. “ I thought a prin¬ 
cess did nothing but play and wear beautiful 
clothes, and that when she grew up she 

75 


THE PRINCESS 


married a king and became a great queen/’ 

The fairy laughed, such a pretty musical 
little laugh. 

“ My dear little girl,” she said, " a great 
many children think that ; but they only 
know of the princesses and queens that they 
read about in fairy books. Real princesses 
must do lessons the same as other children, 
so that they may learn to become clever 
women and good queens. In fact, they some¬ 
times do more lessons than ordinary children, 
because they have to know more to govern 
their people when they become queens.” 

" I see,” said Dolly. “ It is not just all 
fun then to be a princess.” 

“You will see for yourself,” said the fairy, 
“ you have put on the shoes of the princess, 
and are now a king’s daughter. You may 
find it great fun.” 

“ Yes she may ; you never can tell,” cried 
a familiar voice, and the little bronze man 
took a seat by the side of the Star Fairy on 
the edge of the plate. 

“ Why, it’s my dear little man,” exclaimed 

76 


THE PRINCESS 


Dolly, clapping her hands. Oh, how pleased 
I am to see you ! ” 

“ And I to see your Highness/’ answered 
the little man bowing politely. “ I trust your 
Highness is well ? ” 

“ Quite well, thank you,” said Dolly. 
“ Have you been here long ? ” 

“ Why, did we not come here together ? ” 
he laughed, “ wherever you go, I go. You 
must have somebody to look after you, be¬ 
sides you might wish to change your shoes 
again, and who could find you another pair 
if I were not here ? ” 

" That is quite true,” said the fairy, ” but 
hush ! someone is coming. We must go.” 

“ But you will come back again, won’t 
you ? ” cried Dolly. 

“ If you want me, call me,” said the little 
man, " Good-bye for the present,” and as he 
spoke, he jumped right across the room and 
took up his old position on the clock. 

“ Good-bye, dear,” said the Star Fairy. 
“ You may not see me again, but I shall see 
you often when I sit up there among the stars* 

77 


THE PRINCESS 


and when you see them twinkling, think of 
me ! ” And when Dolly looked for her again, 
she was gone. 

“ Will your Highness follow me ? Your 
Highness’s tutors await you,” and she saw her 
black slave Chuck-Chuck standing at her side. 

“ Very well, I’ll come,” she said, as she 
clambered down from her chair. “ Come 
Woggy,” and picking up the old doll, she 
followed the black man out of the room. 


A 


/ •, 



78 










VI. THE SAME 


Chuck-Chuck conducted Dolly down a 
long stone corridor, across a beautiful garden 
where the sun was shining so brightly, and the 
birds singing so sweetly that she would have 
liked to stop there instead of going to her 
lessons. Then he unlocked a curiously carved 
gate in a great wall which enclosed the garden 
and led the way along another passage, at the 
end of which was a door, This he opened, 
and stood respectfully aside for her to enter. 
She passed in and found herself in a small 
vaulted chamber, quite round and very bare 
and dismal looking. There were no windows, 
but the light entered through the ceiling which 
was made of glass, and round the room, each 

79 




THE SAME 


with a desk before him, sat twelve old men 
with long grey beards, and solemn white faces. 
They were dressed in long robes of black 
velvet, with curious designs in silver on their 
breasts, and each had on his nose a large pair 
of spectacles made of horn. They all stood 
up when Dolly entered, and bowed to her. 

“ Good morning, your Highness/' they said 
in chorus, " we trust you are well after your 
night's rest." 

" I am very well, thank you," she replied 
wondering what was going to happen next^ 
and feeling rather frightened. 

" We will resume our study of Anskaffar," 
said one. “ I will take your Highness through 
what we learnt yesterday." 

" I wonder what Anskaffar is," thought 
Dolly. 

“ That is the question I will put to your 
Highness first," said the old man. 

Dolly started. “ I never spoke," she 

said. 

"No, but you thought, and in this room all 
thoughts are heard just as easily as words." 

80 


THE SAME 


” Dear me, what a very wonderful place.” 

“ It is indeed,” murmured another old man. 

“ Will your Highness be seated,” said the 
first speaker, indicating a small stool which 
stood in the centre of the room, “ and tell me 
what Anskaffar is ? ” 

Dolly looked puzzled. 

“ Come, come, your Highness learnt that 
some months ago,” he went on, a little im¬ 
patiently. 

“ Did I ? ” she murmured, “ then I am 
afraid Eve forgotten.” 

" I will tell you once more,” grumbled her 
instructor, “ and if you forget it again, I shall 
be compelled to send for the whipping master.” 

“ Oh dear,” thought Dolly, “ I never knew 
that princesses were whipped. 

“ Sometimes they are,” answered the old 
man who had heard her thinking. " Ans¬ 
kaffar,” he went on, “ is the beginning of every 
princess’s education. It teaches her who she 
is, what she is, why she is, when she is, where 
she is and how she is. It teaches her why 
grass grows and why wood is hard ; and it 

81 


THE SAME 


gives the only reason why donkeys have long 
ears, and dolls are stuffed with saw-dust. In 
fact it is the beginning and the middle and the 
end of everything ; and yet it has no head, 
and no one has ever found its tail. That is 
Anskaffar, your Highness, and now, kindly 
repeat the lesson.” 

“ I—I—I beg pardon ? ” stammered Dolly. 

“ Repeat the lesson at once,” roared the 
old man, “ what is Anskaffar ? ” 

“ I d— d— don’t know,” she sobbed, ” but 
Woggy is stuffed with horsehair.” 

" Oh, this is too much,” shouted her tutor. 
“ I must find the whipping master,” and he 
rushed from the room, slamming the door 
behind him. 

For a moment Dolly sat quite still, not 
knowing whether to laugh or cry, then another 
old man got up. 

" Will you be good enough to give me the 
answer to the sum I set you yesterday,” he 
asked. 

“ I— I don’t remember doing any sums 
yesterday,” she whispered. 

82 



THE SAME 


” Not remember, your Highness ? ” he said 
with a look of surprise. “ I shall give you 
the problem once more, and then, if you can¬ 
not give me the answer, I shall be compelled 
to inform the whipping master.” 

" That’s two whippings for certain,” she 
thought. 

“ If two yab-yabs lay four eggs in three 
days,” said he, “ how many yab-yabs will 
it take to lay a hundred eggs in an hour and 
a half ? ” 

" That is not a fair question,” cried Dolly, 
jumping up, “ I’ve only done simple addition.” 

" And what may that be, pray ? ” 

“ Adding up things, you know,” she an¬ 
swered. 

" I never heard such nonsense in my life,” 
shouted the old man, angrily. “ Your High¬ 
ness is doing this on purpose, so we shall be 
compelled to leave you ; and we shall all 
speak to the whipping master and tell him to 
give you twelve whippings the first thing to¬ 
morrow.” 

“ Yes, twelve whippings the first thing in 

83 


THE SAME 


the morning/’ repeated all the others in 
chorus, and there and then all rose from their 
chairs and slowly left the room. 

For a long time Dolly sat very stilL 
thinking. “ Twelve whippings before break¬ 
fast, it's an awful lot, isn’t it, Woggy ? ” she 
said at length. “ I never got whipped at 
home ! I wish I were not a princess at all, 
I'm not enjoying myself a bit, and this crown 
makes my head ache.” She tried to take it 
off, but it stuck tight and she could not move 
it. “ Oh dear, oh dear, why did I ever 
change shoes with the little girl next door ? ” 
she continued. “I'd run away if I knew 
where to run to, but I don’t know where I 
am. Oh Woggy, Woggy, I’m such an un¬ 
happy little girl, and it’s all my own fault.” 

But the Gollywog said nothing, though he 
looked quite sorry. 

Crash ! The lids of all the desks in the 
room opened at the same moment, and then 
fell back with a bang. 

“ How very extraordinary ! I wonder what 
can be inside them ? ” said Dolly, as she 

84 


THE SAME 


opened the desk nearest to her and peeped 
in. “ Oh, what funny little people ! ” 

“ Do you mind raising the lid and we will 
come out,” said a small voice. “ Thank you, 
that is quite wide enough,” and some hun¬ 
dreds of the quaintest little people you can 
imagine came swarming out, and, using their 
united strength, opened all the other desks and 
liberated their companions, and very soon the 
room was packed with thousands of them, 
running, jumping, dancing, turning head over 
heels, and in fact thoroughly enjoying them¬ 
selves. 

“ Who ever are you ? ” asked Dolly when 
she had somewhat recovered from her sur¬ 
prise. 

“ We are the lessons,” replied one little man 
with a long beard. “ I am Grammar.” 

“ And I am Arithmetic,” said another. 

“ My name is English History,” cried a 
third. 

“ They call me Music Lesson,” piped a 
quiet little lady, as she scrambled up Dolly’s 
frock and sat on her shoulder. 

85 


THE SAME 


“ I don't quite understand what you mean," 
said Dolly, looking rather puzzled. 

“ We are the lessons you have learnt and 
will have to learn," whispered Music Lesson, 
“ and to-day, we are having a holiday because 
your masters have left you, so you won’t 
learn any more of us till to-morrow." 

“ I see, but shall I have to learn all these ? " 

“ Oh yes, and lots more too. There are 
only a few of us here." 

“ Good gracious ! what a heap I have to 
learn ! " thought Dolly, “ and who ever is 
that little man with a crown on his head ? " 

“ That is our King," said Music Lesson, 
“ and his name is Wisdom. We made him 
king because he is the most difficult lesson to 
learn." 

“ Order ! order ! " called the King. " Let 
the court be formed." 

Immediately all the noise ceased, and His 
Majesty took his seat on a little gold throne, 
while the others grouped themselves round him. 

“ Help, help ! I'm drowning ! " cried a 
tiny voice. 


86 


THE SAME 


There was a slight commotion among the 
crowd, and two or three of the lessons ran to 
one of the ink-pots and pulled out a little man 
who had accidently slipped in. 

“ Oh, what a state he’s in ! ” laughed Dolly. 

“ That is the king’s greatest friend,” said 
Music Lesson, " and his name is Experience. 
The King and he are never apart, what a good 
thing he wasn’t drowned.” 

“ Who is that dear little lady in the pink 
dress ? ” 

" That is our Queen, dear. Her name is 
Patience, and the two ladies waiting on her 
are Perseverance and Self-control. You may 
have to learn both of them some day.” 

“ Are there other lessons then, besides 
History, Grammar, and Arithmetic, and all 
that ? ” 

“ Yes, dear, plenty, but you may not learn 
some of them till you are quite an old woman, 
and others you may never learn at all.” 

“ Oh ! do look at those funny little men 
all mixed up together,” laughed Dolly. " Who 
are they ? ” 


87 


THE SAME 


“ They are the Multiplication Table/’ re¬ 
plied Music Lesson, “ and they tumble about 
and mix themselves up to amuse the King 
and his Court.” 

“ Is that why they are so difficult to learn ? 
Oh ! look, there are two of them fighting ! ” 
And sure enough, eight times four and seven 
times six, were having a wrestling match on 
the back of an exercise-book, and twice two, 
and three times five, clapped their hands en¬ 
couraging them to go on, while the King lay 
back on his throne screaming with laughter. 
Suddenly a gong sounded, and in a moment 
the lessons had vanished. Then the door 
opened and Chuck-Chuck entered. 

“ Will your Highness follow me ? ” he said. 
She picked up her doll, and without another 
word the black man turned on his heel 
and left the room, while Dolly walked sedately 
behind him, wondering what was going to 
happen to her next. Presently they came to 
the garden she had seen from the big hall, 
where, on a most beautiful lawn, all the little 
girls who had waited upon her in the morning, 

88 


THE SAME 

were playing games, and enjoying themselves 
very much. 

“ Your Highness may remain here for a little 
while/’ said Chuck-Chuck. 

“ Oh, thank you, I shall love to play with 
those dear little girls,” cried Dolly, delighted 
with the idea. 

“ You forget that you are a Princess, your 
Highness,” answered the slave. “ Princesses 
are never allowed to play with other little 
girls who are not princesses too, and those 
children are only your attendants, so you 
must amuse yourself .” So saying, he walked 
slowly away and vanished among the palm 
trees. 

" Oh dear, I don’t like being a princess a 
bit,” sighed Dolly, as she sat down in the 
shade of a rose bush. 

“ Ha ! ha ! ha ! ” laughed a mocking voice. 
“ She actually doesn’t like being a princess ! ” 

Dolly looked round, and there, sitting on a 
dandelion flower was the little bronze man. 
" It’s you, is it ? ” she said. “ How you 
startled me ! ” 


89 


THE SAME 


“ Did I ? Em very sorry. And so you 
don’t like being a princess after all,” he said, 
swinging his little brown legs, and tying knots 
in a blade of grass. “ I am afraid you are 
rather a discontented little girl,” 

“ Oh I just want to go home and be myself 
again,” she cried. “ Can’t you get me back 
my shoes, please ? ” 

The little man thought for a few moments. 
" I fear that I cannot do that yet,” he said, 
at last ; " but if you will give me a promise, 
I think that you shall go home again very 
soon.” 

“ Oh, I’ll promise anything,” she sobbed. 

“ Well,” said the little man, " you must 
promise me that you will change shoes with 
the first little girl you meet after I leave you. 
Then you will no longer be the Princess, and 
if, when you have spent a whole day as some¬ 
one else, you still want your own shoes back, 
I will see if I can find them for you.” 

“ Thank you so much,” she said, wiping 
her eyes. “ I will do just what you have told 
me.” 


90 


THE SAME 


“ Then good-bye, my dear, I must get back 
to my clock as the Dream Fairy wants me/' 
and springing high up in the air, he passed 
rapidly out of sight. 

" I wonder whose shoes I shall wear next ? ” 
said Dolly to herself. “ I hope they wil belong 
to someone nice. ,, And then for a long time 
she sat quite still thinking again of all that had 
happened. Presently she heard a sound of as 
someone crying, which seemed to come from 
the other side of the rose bush, and the next 
moment a little girl stood before her. She was 
such a wretched looking little thing, dressed 
only in rags. Her face was worn and thin, 
and she was crying bitterly. She had no 
stockings, and on her feet she wore a pair of 
old shoes which were full of holes, and in her 
hand she held several boxes of matches. 

" Oh you poor little thing ! ” said Dolly. 
“ Whatever is the matter ? ” 

“ I cannot sell my matches/' sobbed the 
child, " and mother will beat me when I go 
home." 

" Oh dear, I suppose I have got to change 

9i 


THE SAME 


shoes with her,” thought Dolly, “ as she is 
the first little girl I have seen since the little 
bronze man went away." She did not much 
like the idea of changing her beautiful shoes 
for the ragged ones of the little match-girl ; 
but she remembered her promise and the 
twelve whippings that she was to receive the 
next morning, and she determined to go 
through with this new adventure. 

" Won’t you help me ? ” said the child, 
looking piteously at Dolly. 

“ IT1 try,” she answered, “ but I don’t 
know what I can do, unless you would like 
to be a princess.” 

" A princess ! ” echoed the little match-girl 
in surprise. “ How I should love to be a 
princess ! ” 

“ I suppose you know that you will have 
to be whipped twelve times before break¬ 
fast ? ” said Dolly, “ and you will be 
taught Anskaffar, and yab-yabs, and all 
that ? 

“ Oh I don’t mind the whipping,” answered 
the match-girl, “ I am used to them, and I 

92 


THE SAME 

don’t think I should mind anything if I could 
be a princess.” 

“ Then you must change shoes with me, 
you know,” said Dolly, taking off her velvet 



slippers, and giving them to the little girl. 
" Now sit down with me, and we will put them 
on together.” The two children sat on the 
grass. " When I say three,” said Dolly, “ put 
on my shoes and I will put on yours. Now ! 

93 














THE SAME 


One-two-three/' As she pronounced 

the last word, the garden vanished, and it 
grew quite dark, and Dolly felt herself being 
carried rapidly through the air, and she heard 
the soft voice of the Dream Fairy saying : 
“ Do not be afraid, dear, I am with you and 
no harm shall come to you." 


94 




V 



VII. THE SHOES OF THE LITTLE 

MATCH-GIRL 

“ So there you are, you little wretch. This 
is how you waste your time when I send you 
out to earn money, is it ! Get up.” Dolly 
opened her eyes and found that she was 
sitting on the front door-steps of a big man¬ 
sion, and standing over her in a threatening 
attitude was a dirty, coarse-looking woman. 
She knew it was evening, for it was quite dark 
save for the dim light of the street lamps 
which cast a yellow glow on the snow-covered 
ground. 

“ Oh ! how cold I am!" she said, as she 
slowly got on her feet. Then turning to the 
woman—“ Who are you ? ” she asked. 

95 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


“ Who am I ? What do you mean by 
‘ Who am I ? ' you young brat ! You are 
not going to pretend that you don’t know 
your own mother, are you ? 

“ You are not my mother,” cried Dolly 
indignantly. “ I never saw you before in 
my life.” 

“ Oh, you didn’t, didn’t you,” said the 
woman, pinching her ear till she winced. 

“ Now, come on, give me the money.” 

<f What money ? ” asked Dolly. “ I 
haven’t got any money.” 

“ Haven’t you ? Then what have you done 
with the matches I gave you to sell ? ” 

At the words ‘ Matches ’ everything came 
back to her. She remembered that she was 
the little match-girl and no longer the princess, 
and she also remembered that she had left the 
matches lying on the grass in the princess’s 
garden. 

“ What have you done with them ? ” 
shouted the woman. “ Speak up, you young 
thief, or I’ll give you a sound beating. And 
where did you get this ? ” she added, picking 

96 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


up the Gollywog which was lying on the step. 

“ Mother gave it to me last Christmas/' 
sobbed Dolly, “ and I left the matches on the 
lawn, and I’m not a thief, and you are not 
my mother but a bad wicked woman, and I 
hate you, so there ! '' 

“ Now look here,” said her new mother, 
stooping down and taking her by the shoulders, 
" don't you try any of this nonsense with me, 
because it won't do, do you hear ? And 
listen, you've got to get me some money. 
You've lost the matches so you must beg, and 
if you come home without a shilling at least, 
I'll give you a sound whipping, and not a 
mouthful of supper do you get. Do you 
understand ? " and she emphasised each word 
with a severe shake which made the poor 
child's teeth rattle in her head. 

“ Yes,'' faltered Dolly, when she had re¬ 
covered her breath. “ Will you give me 
Woggy, please ? " 

“ No I won't, so be off. Why what was 
that ? " and as she spoke the Gollywog was 
torn violently from her hand and vanished in 

97 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


the darkness. “ Bless me,” said the woman, 
“ the thing’s bewitched ! ” Then she turned 
to Dolly who was crying bitterly. “ Get 
along with you, and don’t you come back 
empty-handed or it will be the worse for you,” 
and with these parting words she walked 
rapidly away into the night, leaving Dolly 
alone in the snow. 

Poor little girl, she was so unhappy. She 
was cold and hungry and she had lost Woggy ; 
she didn’t know where she was or what to 
do next. For a long time she sat on the steps, 
sobbing as though her heart would break, but 
presently she remembered that she had to get 
some money, so she got up and went slowly 
down the gloomy street. She had not gone 
very far when she saw something black lying 
in the snow a litde way in front of her, and 
when she got close to it, with a cry of delight, 
she stopped and picked up—her dear Golly- 
wog. 

“ Oh you darling old thing, I am glad to 
see you,” she cried, as she hugged and kissed 
the Gollywog. “ I knew you would not leave 

98 




“ ‘ Oh ! Iam glad to see you/ she cried." 




































THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


me for good—Oh Woggy—Woggy—we’ve got 
to go and beg for pennies now, or else we shall 
be whipped and have no supper,” and feeling 
a little less miserable, she proceeded on her 
way. 

Presentfy she came to a large street full 
of shops which were all ablaze with lights, 
making the night seem quite bright, although 
the snow was still falling fast. For a time 
she stood looking in the window of a beautiful 
cake shop, where behind the glass she could 
see the most delicious things imaginable, and 
then she knew how hungry she really was, and 
with a sigh passed on her way. 

A little further on she came to another shop, 
filled with dolls and toys of every description, 
and across the window was a board printed 
in red letters with the words —“ A Happy 
Christmas to You All.” She spelt out the 
words slowly. “ Christmas,” she said aloud, 
" is it really Christmas ! ” 

" Why bless my heart, here’s a little girl 
who actually doesn’t know that it is Christmas 
Eve ! ” Dolly turned round and saw an 

99 


G 





THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


elderly gentleman standing by her side. He 
was short and stout, with a red, good-tem¬ 
pered face, and small twinkling eyes which 
looked at her curiously through a pair of 
gold-rimmed spectacles. 

“ Well, you are a funny little girl/’ he said, 
“ fancy not knowing when it is Christmas 
time! But there ! I dare say Christmas 
makes very little difference to such as you,” 
and he patted her cheek kindly. “ So you 
were looking at the toys,” he went on. “ Now 
which do you like best, eh ? What do you 
say to that big doll there in the red dress ? ” 
and he pointed to a lovely doll nearly as big 
as herself which occupied the place of honour 
in the middle of the window. “ Or that cow, 
I am sure it moos quite naturally when you 
pull the string ? ” 

” Please I don't want any toys,” said Dolly 
bravely. “ I only want to get some money 
for mother, or I shall be whipped and have 
no supper before I go to bed.” 

“ Oh—ho, so that’s the game, is it ? ” 
replied the old gentleman. Sent out to beg 

ioo 



THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


by her mother, thrashings, no supper—hum 
—this must be seen into. u Now what is your 
name, my dear ? " 

" Dolly/ 1 

“ Dolly what ? ’’ 

" I — I—don't know/' she said after 
a slight pause, when to her dismay she 
found that she had quite forgotten her 
name. 

“ Well, well," said the gentleman, “ where 
do you live ? 

Again Dolly had to confess that she did not 
know, for she had never thought of asking the 
woman, who said she was her mother, neither 
could she remember the whereabouts of her 
real home. 

“ This is most extraordinary," he ex¬ 
claimed. “ Why bless me, how will you ever 
get home to your mother if you don't know 
the address ? " 

“ I don’t know I am sure," said Dolly. " I 
expect I'm lost, don't you think so ? " and 
she looked enquiringly at him. 

“ Seems very much like it, doesn't it ? 

IOI 






THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


But I don’t quite see what I can do unless I 
give you to a policeman.” 

“ Oh, please don’t do that ! ” pleaded 
Dolly. “ I’ve not done anything wrong, and 
I am sure I can find my way home somehow.” 

“ Very well, my dear,” said her new friend, 
" but if you should not be able to find your 
mother, come to this address, and I will see 
what I can do for you,” and he gave her a card 
on which was printed a name and address. 
“ And here is something for you, it will help 
to keep mother quiet,” and he slipped some¬ 
thing into her hand, and patting her head 
kindly, and wishing her a " Happy Christ¬ 
mas,” he turned and walked up the street, 
leaving her very sad, though in possession of 
a bright new half-crown. What was she to 
do next ? It was getting late and already 
some of the shops were in darkness, and the 
crowd in the streets was becoming thinner as 
one by one the parcel-laden people wended 
their way homewards. Poor little girl, 
she was hopelessly lost, and so cold and 
tired that she felt she could not walk 


102 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


much further, and try as she would, she could 
not prevent two big tears from trickling down 
to the tip of her pretty little nose. 

“ Hullo, young woman ! What are you 
doing out at this time of night ? ” said a gruff 
voice, and, looking up, Dolly found herself 
confronted by a big policeman. 

“ Please sir, I’m afraid I’m lost,” she said. 

" Oh, you’re lost, are you ? And how does 
a little girl like you come to be lost on Christ¬ 
mas Eve, eh ? ” 

“ I’m sure I don’t know,” said Dolly. “ It 
isn’t my fault, really and truly.” 

“ Oh here you are, my precious, precious 
angel,” and Dolly felt herself lifted from the 
ground and roughly kissed and hugged, then 
she was put down, and she saw that her new 
mother had found her again. " Oh Mr. 
Policeman,” she said, “ I am so glad that I 
have found my little girl, I can't think how 
I can have missed her.” 

Dolly very nearly told the policeman that 
the woman was not her mother at all, but 
something seemed to prevent her. 

103 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 

“ That’s right, missis,” replied the con¬ 
stable. “ Good thing you’ve found the little 
one. Good night,” and nodding to Dolly, he 
went on his way, and she could see the light 
from his lantern shining on the windows as 
he tramped silently through the snow. As 
soon as he was at a safe distance, the woman 
changed her tone entirely. 

“ Now, you brat, what have you got for 
your loving mother ? ” she said with a coarse 
laugh, giving her arm a sharp pinch. Dolly 
gave her the half-crown, and saw with relief 
that it was received with every sign of satis¬ 
faction. “ Half-a-crown,” she said, “ that’s 
not so bad. Come on, let’s get home and you 
shall have some supper for your pains,” and, 
taking her hand, she led her down a side street, 
up several courts, and narrow alleys of tumble- 
down old houses, and presently stopped before 
a ramshackle building that looked sombre and 
bleak in the dim light of a solitary gas lamp. 
Opening the door she led the way up three 
flights of rickety stairs and, unlocking a second 
door, entered a dark room, and after a lot 

104 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


of searching, discovered a box of matches and 
proceeded to light a blackened and evil¬ 
smelling lamp. Dolly saw by the faint light 
that she was in a dirty bare room, without 
any paper on the walls, or carpet on the floor ; 
there were no pictures of any sort, while the 
furniture consisted of an old table, two broken 
chairs, and a mattress covered with a ragged 
blanket, which was the nearest approach to 
a bed that could be seen. The one curtainless 
window was patched in many places with 
brown paper, and there was but a handful 
of fire burning in the rusty grate, The whole 
appearance of the room suggested squalor and 
misery in all its hideousness. 

“ Sit down,” said the woman, “ while I 
make up the fire. Then you can eat your 
supper and get to bed. You’ll have to be out 
betimes to-morrow, for this half-crown won’t 
last much over to-night, so if you want any 
Christmas dinner—you’ll have to earn it.” 

Dolly obediently took a seat on the extreme 
edge of one of the broken chairs, watching the 
woman as she bustled about the room making 

105 



THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


preparations for supper. After putting a 
handful of coke on the dying fire, she opened 
a cupboard from which she took a small piece 
of hard, mouldy cheese and half a loaf of stale 
bread. These, without laying a cloth, she 
placed on the table with a jug of water and a 
cracked tea-cup, and roughly told Dolly that 
supper was ready. 

“You can finish it all, as it is Christmas 
Eve,” she said, “ I am going out again and 
shall expect to find you asleep when I return ; 
and don’t let me have to call you in the morn¬ 
ing, or it will be the worse for you." Wrapp¬ 
ing an old cloak about her, she left the room 
slamming the door behind her, and Dolly 
heard the stairs creaking as she made her 
way down to the street. 

She looked round the room in a dazed sort 
of way, taking in every detail of its wretched 
poverty, and her thoughts went wandering 
away to the nice home she had given up of her 
own free will when she had consented to be¬ 
come the little girl next door. She could see 
the snug warm nursery, with its bright fire 

106 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


and pretty pictures, and as her eyes rested for 
an instant on the mattress on the floor, she 
thought sadly of the pretty brass bed in her 
own dear little bed-room which was now 
occupied by another little girl, and she won¬ 
dered whether Mother and Father and Nurse 
would feel sorry for her if they could see her 
now as she sat in this wretched room, ragged, 
hungry, and miserable. 

Presently she climbed down from her chair, 
and going to the table tried to eat a small 
portion of the bread and cheese, but oddly 
enough she did not feel hungry any more, and 
a strange tired feeling came over her, so she 
crouched down close to the fire hugging the 
Gollywog, and gazed steadfastly into the red 
embers. As she gazed, the iron back of the 
grate slowly raised itself and she saw a beau¬ 
tiful room in the centre of which stood a 
Christmas-tree, laden with toys and ablaze 
little with lighted candles A door opened and 
a crowd of merry-faced children entered, and 
gathered round the tree with exclamations of 
admiration and delight. Then a lady came 

107 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


in, and she saw that it was her own dear 
mother, leading a little girl, who looked just 
like herself by the hand. She was dressed in 
such a pretty frock, and wore a little gold 
crown and carried a small sceptre, and when 
the other children saw her they all cried 
“ Hurrah for Dolly, the queen of the party. 
Hurrah ! Hurrah ! ” 

Soon the presents were all given away, and 
then they all joined hands and danced merrily 
round and round, while a piano played a 
lively tune which sounded very familiar to 
her. And then the scene changed and she 
saw her nursery now empty and deserted, but 
she could hear the tick tick of her little clock, 
and could see the bronze man curled up in 
the same old position, and in a corner by the 
fire-place stood —her own shoes. 

“ Oh, if I could only reach them,” she 
thought, “ perhaps I should be myself again,” 
and she got up from the floor, and with some 
difficulty squeezed herself through the open¬ 
ing and found herself in her own room. With 
a cry of delight she ran towards the shoes, but 

108 




“ We brought you," said a beautiful rose 












THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


just as she reached them, the scene changed 
once more, and she was in a beautiful garden 
filled with lovely flowers of every shape and 
colour, and the centres of the flowers were 
children’s pretty faces, and as she stood in 
amazement, they sang their greeting : 

“ Welcome little Dolly from the Fairy band, 

“ We are glad to see you here in Fairyland, 

“ Try to learn a lesson we would teach you^ 
dear, 

“ And your present troubles will quickly 
disappear, 

“ Welcome little Dolly, from this Fairy 
band, 

“ We are glad to see you here in Fairyland.” 

“ How charmingly they sing ! ” thought 
Dolly. “ Fancy flowers singing ! How 
lovely this place is ! I wonder how I got 
here ! ” 

“ We brought you, my dear,” said a beau¬ 
tiful rose that was growing close beside her. 
“ We thought you ought to see Fairyland for 
yourself, so that you could be quite certain 
that there is such a place, and we have a very 


hi 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 

good reason for having stolen you for a few 
moments. You very nearly got back your 
shoes, but the time is not yet ripe for you to 
become yourself again/' 



“ Who are you, please ? ” asked Dolly. 

" I am the Rose Fairy, and the queen of all 
the flowers, and these others are my subjects ; 
but hark ! the Fairy Queen is approaching ! ” 
In a moment the garden was alive with tiny 
little people, dressed in all sorts of curious 

112 

















THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


clothes. Some walked, some flew, and others 
came in little silver carriages drawn by field 
mice. They all commenced to sing as a 
beautiful coach appeared, to which were 
harnessed twenty white doves decked with 
golden trappings, and inside sat the most 
lovely little person Dolly had ever seen. She 
wore a gown which sparkled in the sunlight 
like diamonds, and when the coach stopped 
and she alighted on the grass, all the fairies 
bowed verv low and cried “ Welcome, oh 
queen ! welcome ! ” 

" Thank you/’ said the queen, then seeing 
Dolly, “ I suppose you are the little girl that 
the Star Fairy told me about ? Come here, 
my dear, and sit down.” 

Walking very carefully for fear of crushing 
any of the fairies, Dolly approached the Queen, 
and in obedience to her request, sat down on 
the grass. 

“ I have brought you here,” said the Queen, 
“ because I want to talk to you. Once you 
were a nice little girl and we all loved you and 
looked after you, though you never knew it. 

ii3 


THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL 


But one day you grew discontented, so I de¬ 
termined to punish you and to teach you that 
no one can have everything she wants, be she 
princess or beggar. So I told one of my most 
mischievous attendants to turn himself into 
the little man on the clock, and to persuade 
you to change your shoes. I had intended 
your punishment to have lasted longer, but, 
as you have borne it well, and have, I think, 
learnt the lesson, I am shortly going to give 
you back your own shoes. Now return from 
whence you came, and when you become your¬ 
self again, try to be a little Fairy yourself.’’ 

“ How can I be a Fairy ? ” asked Dolly. 

" Easily, dear,” said the Queen. " Give 
pleasure when you can, help those who are in 
want, try to bring happiness into the lives of 
those who are sad, and you will find that the 
wonders you will perform will equal any that 
even I could show you. And now, good-bye.” 

Then Dolly awoke and found herself sitting 
on the floor in the garret of the little match- 
girl, with the words of the Fairy Queen ring¬ 
ing in her ears. 

IX 4 



f ‘ Dolly approached the Queen and sat down on the grass." 



















VIII. DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 

She stood up and rubbed her eyes hard, 
then stared at the grate, but the iron back 
was firmly in its place, and the garret looked 
more miserable than ever in the twilight of 
early morning which crept in cold and grey 
through the uncurtained window. The fire 
w,as out, and she saw that her new mother was 
asleep on the mattress. She was hardly 
awake, and the events of the last few hours 
rushed into her little brain in such rapid suc¬ 
cession that she felt dazed, and vaguely won¬ 
dered which were real and which of them were 
but visions that had come to her from dream¬ 
land while she slept. 

“ So you've been to Fairyland, Dolly," 


H 



DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


said a little voice that sounded familiar to 
her ; and there, standing on the table, looking 
fresh and radiant in the dim light, was her 
little friend the Dream Fairy. 

“ Oh how pleased I am that you have 
come ! ” said Dolly. “ I have had such a 
strange dream.” 

“ I know, my dear, I took you away while 
you slept and introduced you to my brother 
and sister Fairies myself, though you did not 
see me ; and before I leave you I am going 
to take you for one more journey, into an¬ 
other land where I am Queen. There you 
will learn how you may regain your shoes, 
and become yourself again.” 

" I liked Fairyland very much,” said Dolly, 
“ and am quite sorry to be back in this nasty 
place.” 

" My dear little girl,” replied the Dream 
Fairy, " all mortals like Fairyland, but very 
few ever reach it. Little children sometimes 
do, but even they may only stay there a very 
short time. When you grow into a woman 
you will understand what I mean, dear, for 

116 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


the Fairyland you saw in your sleep will be¬ 
come more and more unreal as the years roll 



on and you travel farther and farther away 
from it ; but some day, when you are quite 
old it will come nearer to you than it ever 

11 7 

































































DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


was before, and then perhaps you may return 
to it sometimes for a few brief moments, and 
those moments you will count amongst the 
happiest of your life.” 

“ I don’t quite understand what }^ou mean,” 
said Dolly, wrinkling her forehead into a 
funny puzzled expression. 

“ I don’t suppose you do, dear, but }^ou 
will some day, and now I am going to take 
you with me to my own county. It is called 
Dream-land, and we shall have to be quick or 
your new mother will wake up.” 

“ How are we going there ? ” whispered 
Dolly, with an anxious look at the sleeping 
form in the corner. 

“ Close your eyes and give me your hand,” 
said the Fairy. 

Dolly shut her eyes tight, and took the 
Fairy’s tiny little hand, and then she did not 
feel or hear anything more till a strange voice 
told her that she might look. She opened 
her eyes, but for a few moments could see 
nothing for the brilliant sunshine which 
dazzled her. Presently, as she got used to 

118 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


the light, she could see that she was in a 
beautiful valley of bright green grass dotted 
all over with great red and yellow flowers. 
On either side of her, magnificent mountains 
towered high up into the sky, and they glit¬ 
tered as though they were made of gold. Here 
and there she could see the most beautiful 
white castles, which looked just like the little 
sugar ones that had been on her birthday 
cake the year before. Sitting on the grass 
not far off was a little boy. He was dressed 
in armour, and carried a sword in his 
hand. 

“ Who ever are you ? ” said Dolly. 

“ I am Jack the Giant Killer, and the Queen 
has asked me to take care of you for a little 
while, so if you will come with me, I will in¬ 
troduce you to my sister, Little Red Riding 
Hood, and then we can take you to see all the 
sights/' 

" Thank you very much," said Dolly, as the 
little boy took her hand, “ but is this really 
Dream-land ? ” 

“ Of course it is, but it is rather dull just 

119 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


now. You see it is quite early and most of 
the dreams have not returned yet.” 

“Where have they been? ” asked Dolly. 

“ Why, into the world. They go away 
every evening and come back the next morn¬ 
ing” 

“ And where is the Dream Fairy ? She 
said she was coming here with me.” 

“ She went to her castle up on the hill there ^ 
to attend a meeting of her court. There is 
trouble with ‘ Nightmare/ the wicked Fairy, 
and they have been consulting how best to 
punish him.” 

By this time they had arrived at one of the 
castles, and sitting before the door was a 
little girl wearing a red cloak, whom Dolly 
had no difficulty in recognising as Little Red 
Riding Hood. On seeing Dolly and her 
brother, she ran to meet them. 

“You dear little girl,” she cried, kissing 
Dolly warmly. “ I am so glad to see you. 
The Dream Fairy, our Queen, told me she 
would bring you to see us, but I did not 
think you would arrive so soon. Now 

120 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


you must come in and have some break¬ 
fast/’ 

They went into the castle, and sat down 
at a table laden with good things. There was 
new milk, new-laid eggs, toast, and all sorts 
of cakes and sweets. Dolly was very hungry, 
and ate her breakfast, while her two com¬ 
panions chatted to her and told her all the 
news. 

“ I suppose you know that the Queen has 
brought you here to try and get back your 
shoes for you ? ” said Red Riding Hood. 

Dolly nodded. 

“ Nightmare has got them, and refuses to 
give them up, and I am afraid that there may 
be a fight in consequence.” 

“ Who is Nightmare ? ” asked Dolly. 

“ He is part ruler of this country,” said 
Jack ; “ he always wants people to dream 
nasty things, whereas our Queen likes them 
to have pleasant dreams. He lives up in the 
mountains and is absolute ruler of his part 
of the country. He stole your shoes while 
the bronze man was asleep, and he says he 

121 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


will keep them, but the Queen intends to 
force him to return them to you.” 

“ I am sure I hope she will succeed,” said 
Dolly with a suspicion of anxiety in her voice. 

“ I shall probably have to get them for 
you,” Jack went on. “ That’s why I am 
dressed in armour and wear a sword. I am 
the Queen’s champion, and fight for her when 
it is necessary.” 

" Oh yes, Jack is very brave,” cried Red 
Riding Hood, looking at her brother with 
pride. “Of course you have read how he 
killed the Giants in your own story-book at 
home,—but who can this be ? ” 

There was a loud knocking at the door, 
and presently Cinderella entered followed by 
Bluebeard, Goldy Locks, and the Three Bears. 

“ Here she is,” growled the big Bear. “ How 
do you do, my dear ? ” and he put his paws 
round her and gave her a good hug. 

“ I’m quite well, thank you,” said Dolly, 
feeling a little bit frightened. 

“ Welcome to Dream-land, Dolly,” said 
Cinderella. " We heard you were here, so 

122 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


we have left our book and have come to see 
you.” 

“ Where is she, where is she ? ” piped a 
thin, squeaky voice, and Mother Hubbard 
followed by her dog, who walked on his hind 
legs, hobbled into the room. “ Ah ! There 
you are. Glad to see you, my child. I 
thought I was going to be late as my doggie 
had mislaid his hat, but we have it now.” 

“ Bow, wow, wow,” said the dog, turning 
head over heels. “ Bow, wow, wow ! ” 

“ I suppose you have come for your shoes,” 
said Goldy Locks. “ Nightmare has got them 
and says he means to keep them.” 

" Oh dear, I do hope he won’t,” sighed 
Dolly. “ I do so want to be myself again.” 

" Jack will get them for you, so don’t you 
be afraid,” squeaked the Little Bear, “ and 
I hope he will cut Nightmare’s head off.” 

“ That would be splendid,” said Bluebeard, 
" for then there would be no more bad dreams. 
I must give you a lesson in cutting off heads, 
Jack.” 

“ Thanks very much ! ” replied Jack. “ I 

123 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


shall be delighted to learn. But if Dolly has 
finished her breakfast, we must start, or the 
Queen will be kept waiting/' 

“ Where are we going now ? ” enquired 
Dolly, as she got down from her chair. 

" To the Queen’s palace, my dear, to try 
to find your shoes, so take your doll and 
follow us.” 

They all walked out into the sunshine to¬ 
gether, and soon arrived at the border of a 
dark forest, into which they plunged, laughing 
and chattering as they picked their way among 
the trees. Presently they came to a clearing, 
and Dolly saw a beautiful castle which seemed 
to be built of pure gold. A wide moat ran 
round it, and the only means of entrance was 
across a drawbridge which was then closed, 
but Jack produced a silver trumpet and blew 
a loud blast, and the drawbridge fell with a 
crash. Then they passed over it and entered 
a courtyard, where they were to remain till 
the Queen gave them permission to see her. 

They were not kept waiting long, for Dolly 
had barely time to look round at her sur- 

124 



They arrived at the border of a dark forest 



































































DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


roundings, when one of the Dreams came to 
tell them that Her Majesty would see them 
in the audience chamber. 

“ Come this way, if you please,” he said 
politely, so they followed him through many 
beautiful rooms till finally he ushered them 
into a magnificent hall. The walls were of 
solid gold, thickly encrusted with diamonds 
and rubies and many other precious stones, 
and on a throne in the centre sat the Dream 
Fairy, while countless numbers of her courtiers 
stood round her. 

“ Welcome to Dream-land, Dolly,” she 
said. 

“ Welcome to Dream-land,” repeated the 
crowd. 

“ Thank you,” said Dolly. “ I like Dream¬ 
land very much, and I hope I shall soon have 
my shoes again.” 

“ That is what we have come here to try and 
settle,” replied the Queen. “ Nightmare has 
them and wants to keep them, but he will be 
here shortly and we will try to persuade him 
to give them back to you ; if he refuses, we 

12 7 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


shall have to declare war against him and 
fight for them.” 

“ He must be a very wicked Fairy to steal 
my shoes,” said Dolly. 

“ So he is,” remarked Mother Hubbard. 
"He is the biggest thief in Dream-land, and the 
sooner he is done away with altogether, the 
better it will be for everybody.” And the dog 
to show his approval of her sentiments barked 
joyously and turned head over heels three 
times. 

" I will fight him with pleasure, your 
Majesty,” said Jack, drawing his sword and 
looking very fierce, “ and Bluebeard suggests 
that I should cut off his head.” 

" It would not do to kill him if we can help 
it,” answered the Queen, " but if we can find 
any means of driving him away for a little 
while, we might steal the shoes back again 
during his absence.” 

“ May I be permitted to offer my assist¬ 
ance, your Majesty ? ” All eyes were at 
once turned towards the speaker. A 
bright-eyed little woman, dressed in pale 

128 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 

blue silk and carrying a tiny bow and 
arrows. 

" Who are you ? ” said the Queen. “ I 
have never seen you before/' 

" My name is Morning, your Majesty, and 
I have come a long distance to attend this 
meeting. Nightmare and I have long been 
enemies, and he has fought with me on many 
occasions and has always been defeated. He 
is not aware of my presence here, so, if on his 
arrival you will leave him to me, I will pro¬ 
mise to drive him away, while your champion 
recovers the shoes/’ 

A murmur of approval ran through the hall, 
and for a few moments the Queen and her 
principal officers talked together in excited 
whispers. 

“ We accept your offer with thanks,” she 
said at last, " and if you succeed in your 
undertaking, you will earn our eternal grati¬ 
tude.” 

“ I shall not fail, your Majesty,” an¬ 
swered Morning, “ and now with your per¬ 
mission I will retire, as I do not wish my 

129 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


enemy to see me when he first arrives.” 

“ We shall see something out of the or¬ 
dinary presently,” said Bluebeard, when the 
excitement had somewhat subsided. “ I 
fancy Master Nightmare is going to meet his 
match.” 

“ Oh, I do hope they are not going to hurt 
one another,” answered Dolly. “ I do hate 
to see people fight.” 

“ I think it’s all nonsense,” grumbled Jack, 
who wanted to do all the fighting himself. 
" It would be much better for me to cut his 
head off with my magic sword.” 

“ Don’t be a silly boy,” said Mother Hub¬ 
bard, reprovingly. “ You forget that your 
sword would lose all its magical properties 
if used against anybody but a giant, and 
Nightmare is a dwarf.” 

“ And a very ugly one too,” squeaked the 
little Bear. “ Mother says he has six arms 
and three heads and is stronger than twenty 
giants put together.” 

“ You be quiet ! You’re only a baby and 
don’t know what you’re talking about,” 

130 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


snapped Jack angrily, and he looked so fierce 
that the little Bear gave a frightened grunt 
and ran to his father for safety. 

At that moment there was a loud flourish 
of trumpets, and almost immediately a mes¬ 
senger entered. 

“ Nightmare is without and demands ad¬ 
mittance, ” he cried. 

“ Admit him,” said the Queen. 

The messenger bowed and departed. For 
a few moments there was silence in the great 
hall, then the draw-bridge was heard to fall 
with a clang, and the next minute the big 
doors were thrown open and Nightmare 
stalked boldly into the audience chamber, 
pushed his way through the crowd, and stood 
before the Queen. He was very short and 
fat and was dressed in bright scarlet. He 
had six arms and three heads, and his faces 
were all as hideous as could be. He was 
followed by two attendants and Dolly could 
not help laughing when she saw them, for one 
was a great plum pudding who waddled 
awkwardly on his short legs, and the other 

131 

1 








DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


was a mincepie, who left a trail of powdered 
sugar behind him as he walked. 

" Welcome, Nightmare/' said the Queen. 
" I hope you have made up your mind to 
return the stolen shoes to their rightful 
owner ? " 

" Your Majesty," replied Nightmare, “ I 
see no reason why I should return the shoes. 
I took them from someone who did not want 
them, and now they are my property." 

" But the little girl does want them back 
again," persisted the Queen, " and they are 
of no use to you." 

" Your Majesty is mistaken. The little 
girl discarded them of her own free will and 
in their place took another pair which be¬ 
longed to somebody else, and even if I were 
willing to return them, how do I know that 
she wants them back ? " 

" She is here. You can ask her for your¬ 
self." 

" Let her stand forward then, that I may 
see her." 

Dolly, will you come here, please," said 

132 


11 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


the Queen, “ and tell Nightmare that you 
really want your shoes back.” 

Dolly walked boldly up to the throne. 

“ Please, Mr Nightmare, I want my shoes 
back,” she said. 

Nightmare turned all his six eyes on her at 
once, and glared till she felt as if she must 
run away. 

“ Then you can’t have them,” he said with 
a sneer. 

“ Oh dear, oh dear,” cried Mince Pie, 
” somebody has been licking all the sugar 
off the back of my head.” 

" And I believe it is the Little Bear,” 
growled the Plum Pudding* The Little Bear 
was undoubtedly wiping his mouth with the 
back of his paw and looked rather guilty. 

“ Silence,” cried the Queen. ” Is that your 
final answer, Nightmare ? ” 

“ This is my answer. If you want the shoes, 
you will have to take them by force. They 
are in my castle on the mountain, so get them 
if you can. They are guarded by the giants 
of the hills, and no one can defeat them.” 

133 


DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


“ Leave them to me, your Majesty/’ cried 
Jack, drawing his sword and making for the 
door. 



h t mile » 

“ Stop him 1 ” shrieked the dwarf, and with 
superhuman strength he flung the Dreams out 
of his way and started in pursuit. Suddenly 

134 































DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


he stopped short, his knees trembled and his 
faces turned pale, he swayed, and then fell to 



the ground, for there, standing over him, was 
Morning. Nightmare was conquered at last. 
Then there was such a burst of cheering that 

135 




DOLLY GOES TO DREAM-LAND 


the hall seemed to rock. Very soon Jack 
returned triumphantly carrying —the Shoes , 
which he placed at the Queen's feet, and bow¬ 
ing he returned to his place among the Dreams. 

“ Dolly," said the Queen, “ Morning has 
saved you, and Jack has recovered your 
shoes. Take them, and in future try to be 
content with your lot. Remember that it is 
very, very seldom that you find other people’s 
shoes are as comfortable as your own, although 
they may perhaps look nicer. Now good-bye, 
dear ! Morning will look after you now." 

Morning came to her side and smiled at 
her, then a beautiful light shone in her face 
and she—awoke. 


136 


Chapter IX. 


IX. HER OWN SHOES AGAIN 

The nursery was dark save for a bright red 
glow from the fire. The Gollywog lay on the 
hearthrug by her side, and Dolly picked him 
up and then looked wonderingly round the 
room. Then it must have all been a dream, 
she had not really been a princess or a little 
match-girl, or even the little girl next door. 
She got up and looked at the clock on the 
mantelpiece. There was the little bronze man 

137 







HER OWN SHOES AGAIN 


just as she had always seen him, but he didn’t 
move. She felt him all over just to make 
sure, but he remained motionless. 

“ It’s very strange,” she thought. “ It all 
seemed so real. Oh Woggy, Woggy, I am so 
glad to be home again, even it if was only a 
dream, aren’t you ? ” But the Gollywog said 
nothing, you see he was only a doll and his 
shoes wouldn’t come off. " The Dream Fairy 
said I must be contented, Woggy,” she con¬ 
tinued. " I will try so hard. The Fairy 
Queen said I could be a Fairy myself if I 
made up my mind. I think I will be a 
Fairy, Woggy.” 

Just then Nurse came in and lit the gas. 

“ Oh, Nurse,” cried Dolly, running up to 
her, " I am so sorry I was naughty, but I’ll 
be good always now, because I want to be a 
Fairy when I grow up. Will you forgive me ? ” 
And Nurse picked her up, and kissed her, and 
she knew that she was forgiven. 

“ There,” said Nurse, “ now come down¬ 
stairs and see your mother. I want you to 
go to bed early to-night, for to-morrow is 

138 


HER OWN SHOES AGAIN 


your birthday, you know, so you will have 
a long day before you.” 



Dolly went down to the drawing-room, and 
as she sat at her mother's feet she told her 
all about her dream. 

“ And I do so want to be a real Fairy, 
Mumsey,” she said when she had finished, 
“ but wasn't it a strange dream ? ” 

" Yes, darling, but perhaps it was more 
than a dream.” 

“ What do you mean, Mumsey ? ” 

“ You wouldn’t understand, dear. Now 
kiss me, here is Nurse. Good night, my little 
Fairy.” And Dolly went to bed. 

139 

2S6 318 





HER OWN SHOES AGAIN 

And the Dream Fairy must have sat on her 
pillow that night. For when Mother took 
Father up to see her later, she was smiling 
so sweetly in her sleep, that Father, who had 
heard the story, whispered : 

" I believe Dolly is back again in Fairy¬ 
land ! ” 

And who knows ! Perhaps she was. 


140 




























































































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